


Take An Umbrella

by epistemology



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dick highkey pining, Don't Post To Another Site, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Not Beta Read, dick's POV, some angst too because why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22808923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epistemology/pseuds/epistemology
Summary: In which Jason qualifies for a scholarship to Gotham Academy, where he catches the attention of one Dick Grayson.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Wally West, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Koriand'r (Mentioned), Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Comments: 105
Kudos: 445





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I have no idea how this fic even started besides me thinking about how I'd do a high school au way back when. Then I forgot about it, then this happened somehow. Enjoy:)
> 
> (Also, I put that this'll be 7 chapters, but that might be subject to change. I'm looking at 7 right now, but even though I wasn't sure, I don't like seeing the little question marks, so I went ahead and put it)

Everyone knew about the new scholarship student coming to Gotham Academy.

While the school gave out plenty of scholarships to those who couldn’t afford the high tuition, even the poorest among them still fell somewhere into the middle class category. A street rat from the East End, from _Crime Alley_ , was an entirely different matter, and absolutely no one knew what to expect, including Dick Grayson.

Dick knew most people hated the first day of school, but to him, it was one of his favorite days of the year. A naturally social person, he loved the camaraderie that came with seeing all his favorite people again, ready to spend the next year together. Unfortunately, it also meant schoolwork, and as this was his junior year, there was going to be a lot, especially since he was in three AP classes. But he would make it work. He always did. Besides, it wasn’t like he was Tim, who was a freshman in mostly sophomore and junior level classes, meaning Dick would be seeing more of his little brother than he’d expected. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he thought he was happy. He always missed his family whenever he got too busy to see them more than at the breakfast table, which would inevitably happen later in the school year.

Damian still had class in the elementary school building, as he was only in fifth grade, something he was eternally bitter about. He did not enjoy "wasting his time with those imbeciles," as he put it, and would rather attend class with Dick. Dick sensed that he was just upset that he would be spending more time with Tim than him, but there was really nothing he could do.

Dick only shared one class with Tim, World History, but it wasn’t Tim who excited him about that class in particular. It was the new student, Jason Todd, as he came to find out (Leave it to Tim to know everyone’s schedules before even meeting them). Being the adopted son of Bruce Wayne meant that he heard things, and this specific bit of information was spreading as quickly as Tim went through coffee. Inordinately fast. Dick usually tried to stay away from gossip; being a Wayne meant he knew the dangers. But this was something else. Most people were against a scholarship student from the East End. Dick was curious.

That’s not to say he wasn’t wary, but he always enjoyed the prospect of a new friend. If he played his cards right, maybe this could go really well.

They made it to school on time, probably the only occasion that would happen all year. Getting his siblings out the door in the morning was always a challenge, especially since Tim didn’t wake up until after his third cup of coffee. Dick thought he was starting to build up a tolerance to the caffeine.

Damian was different but no less difficult. He seemed to get a special kind of pleasure from being as exasperating as possible, taking too long to get ready or deciding he wanted to wear a different jacket when they were _already in the car_. 

But this morning they had made record time even with a few hiccups, mostly thanks to some help from their sister, Cassandra, who homeschooled and was an absolute blessing when it came to corralling the youngest two, and so Dick had a very false hope for the rest of the year. He walked into his first class, Multivariable Calculus, early enough to get a good seat, which for him was the front row. His friends called him a teacher’s pet, but Dick just liked to be close so he wouldn’t get distracted. He tended to get distracted easily. But none of his friends were in this class (in fact, everyone else in the room was a senior), so he didn’t think he’d have to worry about that too much. Although, he did see a few of his fellow Mathletes, giving them a smile and a small wave.

The hallways after class were crowded as usual, but Dick was able to find Wally, his best friend since he’d been adopted, without much trouble. Their lockers being near each other helped. Wally finding him first also helped.

“Hey, bro! Didn’t see you this morning. Thought you’d be on time for the first day at least.”

Dick laughed. “Just because we made it on time for once doesn’t mean we got here early. We almost did, but that was before Damian pointed out that we’d forgotten Tim. I’m pretty sure he knew the whole time but didn’t tell me until we were out of the neighborhood.” He fished through his locker, looking for his chemistry textbook that he swore had been there before first period.

“I can’t believe you forgot your own brother! At least Damian didn’t forget, even if he was a little shit about it,” Wally laughed while Dick made an offended noise. “And speaking of Tim, I just had physics, and he’s in my class, which is really weird! He’s supposed to be your nerdy little middle school brother!”

“Yeah, well now he’s my nerdy high school brother, who’s smart enough to be in all our classes. Trust me, I have history with him, and I don’t think I’m ready.” Dick reached for a book that looked like the right one.

“Oh yeah! Tim told me the new kid’s in that class! You’ll have to tell me what he’s like. I heard he just got outta juvie, but that coulda just been Conner pulling my leg.”

“That was definitely Kon pulling your leg, but I’ll let you know.” He grabbed his chemistry book, walking the opposite direction as Wally.

Dick didn’t have World History on Mondays, but it turned out he didn’t have to wait until then to meet Jason Todd. In fact, he didn’t have to wait at all to hear reports of him throughout the school. By the end of first period the halls had already been flooded with rumors, and Dick felt as if he were drowning in them. One person said he was terrifying, another that his clothes were “really dirty,” another still that he was mute. The only things most agreed on were that he was tall, had dark hair, and wore a leather jacket. Apparently he had already gotten in trouble for wearing it during class, but Dick supposed that was simply because no one had informed him of the blazers-only policy regarding outerwear.

He trudged on to AP Chem, and tried to ignore the people talking about the ever mysterious Jason Todd. He honestly wasn’t sure why he was so curious about the guy, but the gossip only seemed to intrigue him more. He’d meet him eventually, and this Jason probably wouldn’t turn out to be a criminal or a street rat, whatever the majority of the student body might be saying. He tried to turn his mind to chemistry, but it wasn’t working. The first day of school, and he’d already lost his enthusiasm. He hoped Jason Todd’s presence wasn’t going to ruin his academic career.

Dick was seated and getting his notebook out for his Spanish class before lunch when the entire room went silent, which struck him as odd in a building full of high schoolers. He looked up to find that Jason Todd had walked through the door. Or, at least he assumed it was Jason from the dark hair and leather jacket, which he shrugged off and laid across the chair closest to the door. Which just so happened to be in the front row, right next to Dick, who was currently panicking. Maybe Jason noticed, because before Dick could decide how to react, Jason was staring directly at him, daring him to say something. It made his whole body freeze in anticipation, as if he was about to sneeze but couldn’t, waiting for something that he wanted so badly to happen, but it just wasn’t going to.

Dick had already made a mental picture of Jason Todd based on everything he’d heard so far, of course he had, but sitting next to him, he had to admit that it was entirely wrong. So maybe Jason _was_ tall, and he _did_ look a little intimidating but not in the way Dick had been expecting. What struck Dick was his eyes. They might’ve been blue - he wasn’t really paying attention to the color - but they held such an intense look that Dick thought Jason might be reading his mind or possibly using x-ray vision. He’d never seen someone look at him like that, and it made him want to run away, but he was rooted to the chair underneath him. There was no moving under Jason’s gaze.

Fortunately for him, the teacher chose that moment to start the class, which Dick may have spent the majority of sneaking glances at Jason, who may have been purposefully ignoring him. When the bell rang, Jason packed up quickly, like his life depended on getting out of that classroom. Dick called his name as he was leaving, wanting so badly to talk to him, to introduce himself, but Jason had disappeared into the crowd of students before Dick could say anything more.

Lunch came, and Dick was beginning to think he might be obsessed. Especially since he spent the first fifteen minutes looking for Jason in the crowded cafeteria instead of going to sit with his friends. It wasn’t until Wally dragged him to their table that he finally sat down and ate.

“What’s gotten into you, man? It’s the first day of school, and I’ve seen you exactly once! You normally follow us around in the hallways until we have to force you to go to your own class.” Wally said it in a joking manner, but Dick could tell he was actually concerned. His friends had varying reactions, from vaguely annoyed to outright worry. The worry came in the forms of Tim and Wally, like usual. The annoyance came from Babs. Both Steph and Conner looked unconcerned.

“I just wanted to say hi to the new kid. Couldn’t find him though,” he only half-lied. He couldn’t find him right now, and he technically hadn’t said hi yet. Dick opened his lunchbox, a delicious, home-cooked meal waiting for him, courtesy of Alfred.

“I met him earlier,” Babs chimed in, “and they weren’t lying when they said he wasn’t friendly.”

“Really? What happened?” Wally asked. It annoyed Dick to no end that he was always so interested in gossip, but it wasn’t like Dick had room to stand on, seeing as he was itching to hear any news about Jason.

“I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just glared at me and didn’t say anything when I introduced myself. I’m not sure if anyone’s heard him speak yet.”

“Do you think he can?” Conner asked, only to get shoved by Tim.

“Of course he can!” Dick snapped. “But he’s from Crime Alley, remember? He probably just doesn’t feel like he fits in.”

“He could’ve at least shaken my hand or even just said hi back though,” Barbara reminded him.

“I bet he’s just scared of us,” Wally announced. “Like Dick said, he doesn’t fit in, and he knows it. We just have to show him that he does!”

“That’ll be hard. As much as I think we should be welcoming, it’s gonna be hard for any of us to relate to him at all since we all come from rather well-off families,” Tim pointed out.

“Well-off?” Conner asked. “Dude, you’re not well-off. You’re filthy rich!”

“I was trying to generalize!”

“Well if anyone gets him to talk,” Steph said brightly, “my bet’s on Dick. Pretty sure it’s impossible for anyone not to like you.”

Dick smiled at her, hiding the unease he was suddenly feeling. He ate the rest of his lunch in silence.

The first day of school was supposed to be fun, Dick thought resentfully. Instead, he was tired and unfocused and couldn’t shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong. He didn’t know what that something was, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t determined to fix it. He walked into his AP Literature classroom, fully prepared to sit down and zone out until class started. He wasn’t expecting Jason to be there already, seated in the chair closest to the door again. Dick opted to sit behind him this time, tapping him on the shoulder once he was seated. He tapped again when he got no response.

“Hi,” he began as politely as possible when Jason finally turned around after quite a few taps. He looked irritated. Not a good start, but Dick figured that was his own fault.

“What do you want?” He snapped. So he _could_ talk.

“Uh, nothing. Or, just to say hi, I guess, and introduce myself.”

“We both know who each other are already. Why bother?”

“You know me?” Dick didn’t bother denying knowing Jason.

“You’re Gotham’s favorite socialite,” he said simply, to which Dick made a face. “Face it, Golden Boy, you’re known throughout the land.”

“Golden Boy?”

Jason ignored that. “Can we stop talking now?” He asked instead.

“Wait! Um, your name’s Jason, right?”

“Oh, so you’re asking now?”

“What?”

“You called my name earlier, plus this whole fucking school already knows it, so I don’t see why you hafta ask!”

“It’s called being polite,” Dick said, a little stunned at the outburst. People were starting to stare. Not that he wasn’t used to people staring, but it was usually for different reasons.

“Well, don’t bother.” And with that, he turned around and ignored Dick. Normally, this would've only upset him a little, but that feeling only grew as soon as a familiar person took the seat behind him, loudly throwing himself into the chair. Slade Wilson, a senior, who had taken a particular interest in Dick last year.

Slade had the kind of personality that begged him to be misogynistic, racist, and homophobic. He was none of these things yet somehow managed to be an asshole despite it.

"Hey Grayson. Fancy seeing you in my class."

Dick didn't turn all the way around, but he could tell Slade was leering at him. His friends all told him he was completely oblivious most of the time, which was why it took him the entirety of last year to realize that Slade had been flirting with him. Not that Dick minded flirting, but he knew Slade’s reputation, and it was not a good one.

"Hi Slade,” he managed to get out through clenched teeth. He was determined not to make the same mistake of indulging him this year. 

“What’s up with the new kid? I heard he’s a criminal,” he said in a whisper that was purely for show. Slade’s voice carried, and he must’ve known Jason could hear. To his credit, Jason didn’t react.

“Class is starting, Slade.” Dick busied himself with his notebook, then added, “And you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”

“And _you_ shouldn’t trust everyone you meet, Grayson,” Slade whispered, breath hot on Dick’s neck.

This was going to be a long year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [tumblr](https://epistemologys.tumblr.com/)


	2. The Not-Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I know nothing about cars and 90% of my knowledge came from various online articles - please suspend your disbelief if you happen to know anything at all thank you very much

“I heard he’s actually a drug dealer.”

“Is that why he went to juvie?”

“You guys are full of crap! No way he’s a dealer! I’ll bet you he’s a junkie though.”

“He doesn’t look like a junkie…”

“People from his area are probably better at hiding it.”

“How do you think he even got in?”

“I dunno, good grades?”

“No way I’m buying that!”

Dick listened to the group talking loudly behind where he was trying to study. This was the library, so he thought they should really go somewhere else if they wanted to gossip. Not to mention the fact that it had been almost two weeks, and the excitement surrounding Jason had yet to abate. Dick felt bad; he of all people knew the difficulty that came with having to endure the hell that was invasive rumors. Usually they faded after a while, but the fact that no one had learned anything about Jason so far had kept him as a big talking point, mostly since people loved to speculate. And his loner attitude was fueling the theories that he was some kind of criminal. Dick didn’t think it was fair, but then again, Jason wasn’t talking to him either.

If he would just _talk_ to him, give him some indication that he was a decent person, then maybe all the commotion would die down. Dick could be the one to help with that. He was good at helping people. If only Jason would see that.

“Whatcha reading?” Dick had decided to give it a few days before he tried making conversation with Jason again, because the last few attempts had been fruitless. Almost two full weeks of sitting next to each other in three classes, seeing each other every day, and Jason hadn’t spoken to him since the first day of school. Friday afternoon was as good a time as any to try again, especially since they were both early to English, and Slade wasn’t there yet, giving them plenty of time to talk if Jason actually acknowledged him.

“None of your business!” Jason snapped. A response. This was good, Dick thought.

“I mean, sure, I guess, but you can’t fault me for being curious. And you don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to.”

Jason narrowed his eyes, and Dick took the opportunity to cock his head to catch a peak at the cover.

“Ooh, _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ , huh? Well, I know for a fact that’s not for AP Lit, so you’re a Shakespeare fan then?”

He got the middle finger. Better than he expected, all things considered. And now he knew that Jason liked Shakespeare. Except he’d already known that. The one thing he knew about Jason was that he liked to read because he was always accompanied by a book. The past two days it had been _The Tempest_.

“That’s cool,” Dick continued as if Jason hadn’t just flipped him off. “I’m personally not a big reader, but that’s mostly because I hate sitting still. My youngest brother loves reading though. I’m not actually sure what kinds of books he reads, because his first language is Arabic, so he usually reads books in Arabic. I only know a few words in Arabic, so I never know what he’s reading. I do speak Romanian though, and obviously a little Spanish too, but we don’t have any Romanian books in the hou-”

“Can you stop?” Jason finally interrupted.

“Stop what? Being friendly?” He asked innocently.

“Being annoying.”

“Look, it’s not my fault you’re refusing to talk to me, and trust me, I can carry on this conversation all by myself.”

“Yeah, I don’t doubt that,” Jason scoffed. He’d been subject to Dick’s one-sided conversations for the past two weeks, so he knew.

“Well, if it’s so annoying, you could just respond.”

Jason leveled him with a look that almost made Dick flinch. “What do you want from me?” He demanded.

“Do I have to want something?”

“People always want something.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“Then you’re wrong,” Jason said flatly. “Look, if I just answer your questions, will you leave me alone?

Dick furrowed his brow, thoroughly confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I know why you’re doing this whole 'pretending to be my friend' thing, and it’s not 'cause you want to be my friend,” he said, calmer than Dick would’ve expected from him. But then again, Dick didn’t really know him, did he? “Just like everyone else in this shithole, you wanna know what it’s like in the East End. And you wanna hear it from me 'cause you’re too scared to go check it out yourself. So if I just tell you, will you stop being an asshole who thinks he's entitled to my time?"

Dick stared, rendered speechless for once. He hadn’t realized that’s how he came across to Jason, but hearing it now, he should have predicted it. Everyone Dick had spoken to had been curious about Jason. They’d all been trying to figure him out, trying to see what made the poor charity case tick. Maybe Dick's own motivations hadn't been much different.

"I- That wasn't my intention. Um, I'm sorry for, for making you think that," he managed to get out.

"That wasn't your intention? Then what was?" Jason sounded angry. Dick hurried to try and rectify his mistake.

"I wasn't, I mean, I guess I _was_ curious, but not like that! I just wanted to get to know you."

"And what makes you think you're entitled to that, huh?"

Dick didn't think of himself as entitled. He grew up in the circus after all. But maybe he'd been living with Bruce too long to understand anymore.

"I'm not," he said softly. "Entitled to know you, I mean. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn't- I wasn't thinking about your perspective."

Jason eyed him, and once again, Dick found himself trying desperately not to flinch under his gaze.

"Thanks," he said finally. And it wasn't exactly a smile, but it wasn't the glares Dick had become accustomed to.

This was a start.

They were walking to the car, when Dick saw the look on Tim's face and knew something bad was about to come out of his mouth.

"So'd you talk to your boyfriend again today?" Dammit Tim.

"My boyfriend?" Dick asked, trying to keep this conversation from happening.

"Yeah. Jason? The guy you're obsessed with even though he hates you?"

"Pretty sure that doesn't make him my boyfriend."

"Okay, fine. Your crush."

"I don't have a crush on him," Dick said carefully, not betraying any emotion. He pulled his keys out of his pocket as they approached the car, then stopped in his tracks. "Dami's going home with Jon, right?"

Tim snorted. "What is it with you and forgetting your brothers? Yeah, they're having a sleepover. Kon was complaining about it to me."

"How are things with Kon, by the way? Asked him out yet?"

"Don't turn this conversation around on me! We're talking about _your_ crush right now!"

Dick noticed with glee that Tim's face was pink. He got into the driver's seat and started the car. "I thought I already established that I don't have a crush on him!"

"You did, but I don't believe you."

"Then what's the point in asking?"

Tim shrugged. "Fun."

"You asshole!"

"Oh come on! I saw you staring at him all through history yesterday! It was honestly really embarrassing."

Dick shoved him.

"Hey! Pay attention to the road! You're gonna kill us both!"

"It'll be worth it after this talk," Dick grumbled. Tim rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"Come on, Dick! You can't honestly say you don't like him!"

"I just find him interesting," he said defensively, "and I want to get to know him."

"And you think he's hot."

"What? No! I mean- Sure, but that's just fact, right? I can recognize someone's objective hotness without having a crush on them!"

"Yeah, sure, but when you couple that with finding them interesting and wanting to get to know them? Pretty sure that's called a crush."

Dick sighed, defeated. He didn't want to argue with Tim about this, especially since Tim was usually right. Usually. Dick didn't have a crush on Jason Todd, no matter what his little brother said.

"In all seriousness, though, I have to ask. Why do you find him interesting? Because if it's 'cause he's from Crime Alley, pretty sure it's safe to say he's never gonna like you back."

"No! That's not- Look, I don't even know why I like him, but it's not 'cause of that! Everyone's been treating him like he's some kinda freak show just because of where he's from, and I don't know how to show him that that's not what I think of him!"

When Dick glanced over, Tim was grinning. "So you _do_ like him!"

He sighed. "That's not what you were supposed to get out of that."

“Don’t worry. I won't tell Bruce or Damian. I’m not _that_ mean,” Tim said, fiddling with the radio.

Dick tried to slap his hand away but Tim jerked his arm back, and he decided to go ahead and give up and just subject himself to Tim’s horrible music. “There’s nothing to tell.”

Then he added a “Thanks” because Damian finding out about his not-crush would be exactly the kind of disaster he didn’t want to go through. Damian was very protective of him. It was cute but annoying. He’d never approved of Babs when they had dated, claiming she wasn’t a good fit for him. But then again, he hadn’t been wrong. Dick kind of hoped Damian would like Jason when they met.

Except they probably weren’t going to meet. And Dick shouldn’t care about his little brother’s opinion. Because he didn’t like Jason Todd, and, more importantly, Jason definitely didn’t like him.

Dick had decided to give Jason space, and he had. But after a few weeks of polite hello’s and nothing more, it was beginning to frustrate him. He thought ignoring Jason would somehow make his crush - yes, he was acknowledging that it was a crush now - go away, but it seemed to be doing nothing of the sort.

The only upside was that Jason didn’t seem to hate him anymore. In fact, he tolerated Dick’s presence, which was more than anyone else in the school could say. Jason was still prickly around everyone else.

His efforts paid off Tuesday morning, when Jason came into World History, looking extremely pissed off and sporting a nasty bruise on his jaw and a line of stitches on his temple. He sat down gingerly, which made Dick wonder if there were more injuries hiding under his uniform.

He was trying to work out whether to say something when Jason beat him to it.

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t doing anything illegal."

Dick frowned. “That’s not what I was worried about.”

“Yeah?” Jason seemed a little surprised, but his scowl still hadn't disappeared completely. “Then what?”

“Are you okay? Those stitches look pretty bad.”

“And the bruise doesn’t?”

“Shh. I’m focusing on one thing at a time.”

Dick saw Jason's mouth twitch and thought it might have been the beginnings of a smile.

“Well, you can stop worrying. I’m fine, and I’m not gonna tell you what happened, so don’t bother asking.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Dick said lightly, which surprised Jason again, this time wiping the scowl off his face.

“Uh, thanks,” he mumbled.

Dick knew he shouldn’t have hoped for more, because Jason took that as his cue to turn around, effectively ending the conversation. He also knew he shouldn’t be so insanely happy over such a short exchange of words, but he would inevitably be replaying that conversation in his mind for the rest of the day.

Dick leaned back in his chair and ignored the way Tim was glancing at him, clearly entertained.

Wally caught up with Dick after class, tailing him to the cafeteria.

"Hey, you just had class with Jason, right?"

"Yeah." Dick kept his tone carefully neutral. Technically only Tim knew about his crush, though all of his friends had probably guessed by now.

"Did you see his face?"

"He didn't tell me what happened if that's what you're wondering."

"No, no, no! I wanna tell you about what happened earlier!”

“Earlier? That happened today?” Dick frowned. That didn’t make sense now that he thought about it. Jason had stitches and there’s no way those had been done in the last few hours.

“Nah, he came in like that. But anyway, before last period, I was in the hall, and some asshole yelled at him and asked him if his drug dealer was the one who beat him up!"

At some point Wally had turned around and started walking backwards in front of Dick, which made Dick’s abrupt stop that much more noticable.

"I know right! Jason looked _murderous_! I thought a fight was gonna break out right then and there!”

“But it didn’t?” Dick started walking again.

“Course not! You would’ve already heard if there was a fight, Dick. He just gave him a death glare and then walked off to whatever class you guys just had."

"History."

"Whatever. Anyway, it was really intense. You should’ve seen it."

Dick was kind of glad he hadn’t. Jason had looked pissed enough after the fact; Dick didn’t even want to imagine how angry he’d been in the moment.

They made it to the cafeteria, but Dick’s mind was occupied by thoughts other than his lunch, which sat untouched the whole time.

Dick stopped off at his brother's locker on the way out of school, exactly as he did every afternoon.

"Timbo, you ready?"

Tim just looked at him quizzically. "I'm hanging with Connor and Steph after school. I literally told you that this morning."

"You did?"

"Yep."

Huh. So he'd be driving by himself for once, since Damian was staying after for his art club. That was weird. He usually had at least one annoying sibling in the car, usually coupled with a loud friend too. Dick shouldered his backpack as Tim waved and walked away, turning around to come face to face with Wally.

"Hey, did Donna tell you she's gonna be in town this weekend?" He asked immediately.

"Yeah, she mentioned it to me the other day. We planning on doing something together?"

"Well duh. We should go somewhere!"

"Like where? Let's just do a movie night at my place," Dick said as they walked out of the building towards the parking lot.

"Guess that sounds fun too. But we have all weekend so it's not like we can't do a movie night and go out somewhere. We should invite Conner and Megan, too."

"I'll ask them tomorrow. Actually I'll just text Tim 'cause he's with Kon right now."

"Oooh, they a thing yet?" Wally grinned. 

"Don't think so, but they obviously like each other, so it's bound to happen soon."

"And if it doesn't, you'll make it happen?"

"You bet!" Dick grinned back at him, stopping in front of his car to pull out his keys.

"Yeah? Maybe we can pull some matchmaking stunts on them this weekend?"

"Definitely! We can plan our schemes with Donna!" Dick said as he got in his car, waving as he shut the door. "See ya tomorrow!"

"See ya!"

Wally jogged off, and Dick thought idly about actually setting up his brother and friend. They'd been dancing around each other for so long. It was driving Dick up the wall watching them flirt, and besides, Tim couldn't make fun of Dick's crush when he still wouldn't make a move on his own. 

But that was the least of his worries at the moment, because when he tried to start his car, it made an odd sputtering sound and promptly died. He frowned at Wally, who'd turned around when he'd heard the pitiful noise.

"Something wrong?"

"Car won't start."

Wally's eyebrows shot up. "Dead battery?" 

"Hell if I know! You know anything about cars?"

"A little. I doubt I'll be able to help much, but I do know how to jump a battery."

Dick hummed. "Maybe we should Google it first," he pointed out.

"Google what? Why won't my car start? You'll get a _million_ answers!"

"Yeah, well what else do you suggest?" Dick shot back.

"I can take a look at it if you want." Both boys pivoted sharply before the voice was even finished speaking, finding Jason Todd standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets, looking about as uncomfortable as normal. Dick shifted his weight and tried not to smile like an idiot.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Wally asked before Dick could say anything.

"I'd hope so. I'm a mechanic," he said flatly.

Dick perked up a little at that. He liked learning new things about Jason, and this was an interesting but of information.

"Really?"

"Yeah, or, I mean, I work at a shop after school. What's wrong with it?"

"Won't start," Dick said simply, unsure of what else to say.

"Can I hear?" He asked as he took off his jacket and began rolling up the sleeves of his uniform. Dick may have allowed himself a second to stare before moving back to the driver's seat and trying the ignition again. Jason made a face and popped the hood.

“Carburetor needs to be rebuilt,” he said after poking around through parts of his car Dick didn’t even know existed. “You have an old car. Most don’t use carburetors nowadays.” He said it casually, but Dick could hear the question behind the innocuous statement. _Why does a rich kid like you drive this piece of junk?_ Dick wasn’t offended. He loved his car.

“Uh, I don’t know what that means,” Dick said a little sheepishly, focusing on the first comment.

“Means I can take this part to the shop now and fix it there, if you want. That way you don’t have to tow your whole car.”

Dick wasn’t sure what to make of that. Something about the way Jason had phrased it made it seem like he was doing him a favor. But Jason didn’t look that concerned, shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal. Dick couldn’t help but smile.

“Sure. Thanks for your help!”

“Not a big deal. I should get going now though. It might take an hour or two, so you should probably just get a ride home.”

Dick glanced over at Wally, who raised his eyebrows, as if daring him to do what they both knew he wanted to. And Dick was never one to back down from a dare.

“Actually, could I just come with you? I’d rather not leave my car here all night, and it would be boring waiting here.”

Jason looked surprised, not even bothering to hide it.

“Uh, I mean, I-,” he stammered, “Sure, I guess, if you really want to…”

Wally looked back and forth between them, an expression on his face that Dick really didn’t like.

“Well, it looks like I’m not needed, so I’m just gonna head out. See ya tomorrow, Dick!” He grinned, winking at Dick the moment Jason had turned his attention back to the car.

Dick didn’t know whether to be mad or grateful at Wally’s “help.” He’d figure it out later. He turned back to Jason, only to find him walking away, awkwardly holding the offending part from Dick’s car.

“Hey, wait up!” Jason slowed down, if only a bit. “So, how’re we getting there? Do you have a car?”

Jason snorted. “No way. We’re taking the bus.”

“The bus?”

His reaction must have been amusing, because Jason gave a small snort. “Yeah, Dickie, _the bus_ , just like the rest of the peasants.”

“That’s not what I meant!” He protested. He realized belatedly that Jason had called him _Dickie_ and also that he liked it a lot.

“Whatever. There’s a bus stop about five minutes from school.”

So this was what Jason did every day, walk to the bus stop and take one to his mechanic shop or maybe some other place. Dick found himself wondering where Jason lived. He knew he was an orphan, so a group home, maybe?

The shop was on the edge of Crime Alley, not the worst part of town but still the kind of place Bruce would never let Tim or Damian visit alone. It wasn’t particularly big and was a tad old-fashioned for a city like Gotham, but there was something about it that made Dick see why Jason would like it. Small, easily overlooked, and surprisingly unconventional.

They walked inside, and the first thing Jason did was turn off the deafeningly loud music that had been playing. Dick thought the place looked empty until he heard “Jaybird, that you?” coming from below one of the two cars currently in the shop.

“Yeah." Jason didn't seem surprised by the presence of a third person.

“Good. Because if anyone else had the gall to mess with my music, I’d hit them with this wrench," the guy said. Dick heard a clattering that he supposed must have been the wrench.

“Even Kory?” Jason asked skeptically.

“Kory could kick my ass before I even got near her with this thing.”

“You’re not wrong. She could probably kick my ass too if it’s any consolation.”

“It’s not. You’d let her win.”

“Yeah,” Jason agreed, “but then she’d kick my ass for real for that.”

“True." Mystery guy let out an undignified snort. "Hey, can you do me a favor?”

“Depends. What kind?”

“Can you get the tires off that other car? I tried loosening them, but they’re on super tight.”

“Maybe that’s just ‘cause you have weak ass twig arms.”

He made an offended noise from beneath the car. “Excuse you, I used my legs like you taught me!”

“Then you’ve got weak ass twig legs too.”

“Rude. Not all of us can have thighs that can crush watermelons.”

“Pretty sure my thighs can’t crush watermelons, Roy.”

“Somehow I find that hard to believe.” Roy sounded as though he was rolling his eyes.

“Cantaloupe maybe,” Jason joked, and Dick didn't think he'd seen Jason actually smile until now. It was a nice smile, and he hoped to see it again.

"Are cantaloupes actually easier than watermelons?"

"Guess we'll have to test it."

"Yeah, except neither of us can afford a watermelon," Roy said, and suddenly Jason was stubbornly looking anywhere but at Dick. He busied himself with finding a tire iron amidst a clutter of tools.

"It could be your birthday present," he offered.

“Ooh sounds fun! We can make a party out of it.”

Jason just rolled his eyes, ending the banter in favor of concentrating on the tires. It took him two tries to get the second one loose, which made Roy, who’d since emerged from under the car, smirk.

“I’m just loosening them since I’ve already got something to work on. You can finish them yourself."

Roy nodded and then noticed Dick for the first time.

“Oh, sorry, have you been waiting awhile?”

“Oh, um, no, I’m with him,” Dick said, jerking his thumb at Jason, who’d finished with the tires. Roy raised his eyebrows.

“You’ve been here, like, five minutes, Jay! How do you already have a customer?”

“He’s from school,” Jason explained. “His carburetor’s broken, so I offered to just bring it here and fix it.”

“Oh. Have at it then,” Roy said, before turning back to Dick, who could almost see the moment the pieces fell into place in his mind. “Wait, you’re Dick Grayson, aren’t you?” He glanced at Jason when he asked, which made Dick’s stomach flip a little, because the small action made it seem like Roy had heard of him, not through the news like most people, but through Jason.

Jason pretended he hadn’t noticed, even though he’d clearly seen the look Roy had given him.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me,” Dick said, rather uselessly. Roy had already gotten back to work.

“You can sit down,” he added to Dick a moment later, indicating a chair that was slightly obscured by the door before returning to his original spot under the car. Dick sat and wondered how long this would take as he watched the two boys at work. They both knew what they were doing and moved around the shop with a practiced fluidity, weaving in and out of the mess. Jason had always seemed rigid to Dick, all stiff movements and clumsy phrases, but here he was in his element, ease practically radiating off him. It was a different side of him, but Dick liked it just as much, if not better.

It wasn’t until he started staring at Jason’s arms and imagining them wrapped around him that Dick realized it probably wasn’t polite to fantasize about the guy fixing your car right in front of him. He tried not to let out an audible sigh before tearing his eyes away from Jason and focusing on counting the number of old keys hanging on the opposite wall instead. Maybe Jason was the one who’d collected them. Maybe it was Roy, who, try as he might, Dick wasn't able to stop wondering about. He was obviously close to Jason, someone he felt comfortable with. How close, Dick didn't know, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. Which was stupid and not his business anyway.

“Hey, you good to go?” A voice asked, and suddenly Jason was standing over him, snapping him out of his daze. Dick coughed awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, sure!"

They waved at Roy, Dick saying something polite about it being nice meeting him, the standard goodbye at Bruce's parties, and returned to Dick's broken car in the school lot. Jason tinkered with it a little more before deeming it okay and asking him to try and start it again. The engine came to life with it's typical rumble, and Dick tried hard to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest that resulted from losing his only reason to keep hanging out with Jason.

He thanked him politely and drove off, reminding himself that they went to school together and it's not like he wouldn't see Jason tomorrow.

Plus, there was now a slim possibility that they were becoming _friends_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned I love writing Roy because I do


	3. Northanger Abbey

Dick resisted the urge to roll his eyes, unsure of how successful he'd been. His day had been going great. He'd made plans with Donna for the weekend, teased Tim about Conner, and Jason had said hi to him before class, which had pretty much made his entire week. But now Slade was standing over him with a dangerous leer, and Dick had a feeling he knew what he was going to say.

“Hey Grayson. Wanna be my partner for the lit project?”

Dick cleared his throat awkwardly. He needed a partner for this assignment, and Jason either hadn't seen or was ignoring Dick's hopeful glances during class, more likely the latter. And more importantly, Dick didn't want to work with Slade. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to reject the offer without seeming rude.

“Sorry Wilson, but Dick and I are already partners,” Jason interrupted, barely glancing up from his book.

Slade cast an irritated look at him. “Thanks, Todd, but I’d prefer to hear that from Dick if you don’t mind.”

“Jason’s right,” Dick said, perhaps a bit too quickly. “We’re partners. Sorry.”

“Maybe next time then.” It wasn’t a question.

“Maybe.” Dick waited until Slade left the classroom to sigh loudly in obvious relief. “Thanks for that,” he directed at Jason, who ignored him in favor of reading.

“I’m free tomorrow after school,” he said after a moment, surprising Dick, who’d given up and gone back to working on homework.

“What,” he said dumbly.

“For the project,” Jason clarified for him. “We’ll need to work on it outside school. How does tomorrow afternoon sound?”

“Wait, you actually want to be my partner?”

“Well, I already told Wilson I was, and I’m not just gonna back out now. I need a partner, too, remember?”

“Oh,” Dick said. “Um, tomorrow actually works really well for me.”

“Great.” And with that Jason turned his attention back to his book.

Dick waited awkwardly a few feet away from Jason's locker, desperately hoping he wouldn't question why Dick even knew where his locker was, seeing as they weren't anywhere near each other. Neither of them had brought up the project since the day before, and Dick didn't know if he should suggest working on it at the Manor or not. Part of him wanted to be polite, but the other part was yelling at him not to overwhelm Jason, as the Manor was sure to do.

“You ready?” Jason asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and walking over to where Dick was still standing.

“Yeah. Anywhere in particular you were thinking of going?”

“Public library’s not far from here, and there’s a cafe in it if you get hungry.” Dick noticed he’d said you and not we. He decided not to bring that up.

“Sounds good!”

Both the walk to the car and the drive were made mostly in silence, with a few moments every now and then where Dick would try and initiate conversation. Jason was polite but answered all his questions with little detail and not asking any in return. He clearly didn’t want to chat, which Dick eventually chose to respect, mostly since he wasn’t getting anywhere by pushing things.

The library was bigger than he remembered from the one time he’d visited it at the age of ten or eleven, but then again, he didn’t really recall much. The building itself was imposing in a way that somehow still seemed inviting; he could see why Jason liked it. And he knew Jason liked it in the way the boy walked through the doors like he owned the place, navigating halls he clearly knew. Dick had to jog at times to keep up with Jason’s confident pace.

They finally settled at a table hidden behind the mystery section, books and papers spread out between them as they tried to pick a book for their report and brainstorm ideas.

“All I’m saying is that if we’re gonna pick Gothic literature, then _Northanger Abbey_ is the best choice!” Jason said hotly, ignoring the side eye he was getting from the person reading across the aisle. He didn’t seem to care about being quiet.

“But that’s not even a real Gothic book. Wouldn’t it be better to just do _Frankenstein_ or _Jekyll and Hyde_ or something?”

“But _Northanger Abbey_ is a satire of Gothic literature, meaning it has a lot of really obvious themes in it that we can point out. So then our presentation can be about the reaction to the Gothic. Plus, no one else is gonna pick it, so it’s original, so there,” he said, leaving no room for debate. Dick didn’t mind, because he found himself agreeing. Whether it was due to Jason's flawless logic or the way his eyes lit up when he spoke went undetermined.

"Okay, fine. _Northanger Abbey_ it is. We should figure out who's doing what now."

"I kinda figured I'd do more of the writing part, so that way you can present."

"Do you not like talking in front of people?" Dick asked, concerned.

"I don't really care either way, but I figured you probably liked it. You seem like the type."

He cocked his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jason blushed lightly. "I dunno, you're just a people person, yanno? And you do all that acrobatic stuff in front of people, so I guess I just assumed that you wouldn't mind…" He trailed off, looking unsure and uncomfortable, so Dick decided to put him out of his misery.

"You're right. I actually love presenting, I was just a little surprised that you guessed that, but I suppose now it seems a little obvious."

"Okay, then that's settled," Jason said, and he started shuffling through the mess they'd made, pulling out the worksheet with the project guidelines. The two of them spent the next hour planning and outlining all their ideas, Dick only getting distracted a few times. They worked together surprisingly well, and he knew Jason could see it too. And while Dick was disappointed when they finally called it a night and went their separate ways, Jason taking a bus despite Dick's many protests, he left feeling better than he had in days.

Donna never failed to make Dick smile. She’d been a close friend of his for a while now, almost as long as Wally, and yet she knew him better than anyone else, even Bruce. And as much as he’d missed her, Dick couldn’t deny that just walking through the mall with her and Wally was as close as he could get to the perfect Saturday afternoon. They’d had a movie night last night, and Dick had invited just about every single one of his friends, but now he got to spend some quality time with his two closest, and Donna’s having moved away made it that much sweeter. What could he say, Dick was sentimental.

“Hey dude, check out that girl!” Wally nudged him in the ribs, and Dick responded by shoving his shoulder. Donna raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re talking about who I think you’re talking about, she’s way out of your league.”

Dick looked to where Donna was glancing, and yes, she was completely right. The girl had long red hair, tan skin, and was probably one of the hottest people Dick had ever seen. And he’d seen a lot of hot people.

“Ouch, Donna!” Wally put a hand over his chest in mock hurt.

“Hate to say it, but she’s kinda right.”

“You guys have no faith in me! I’m gonna go talk to her!”

Donna snickered. “We’ll be here, videotaping your colossal failure.”

Wally rolled his eyes once he realized she was joking, then put on a confident face and walked over to where the girl was standing alone. Dick was happy to watch from across the food court, but Donna motioned for him to join her as she got closer.

“...way out of your league,” the girl was saying, and _ouch._ Just because Dick and Donna had said that didn’t mean she had to embarrass Wally like that to his face. But Wally took it gracefully, accepting the rejection, and she softened a little, taking pity on him.

“I admire your boldness, but I also have a boyfriend, so you really never stood a chance.” She smiled, and then Donna was walking up to Wally, probably to give him an excuse to leave so he didn’t have to flounder. Dick decided not to follow.

“Wally, there you are! We were wondering where you’d gotten off to!”

This would have been where Donna said something polite to the girl, and the two of them left with Wally’s dignity still intact, but before either of the could say anything else, Jason Todd was at the girl’s side, arm wrapped possessively around her shoulders. He eyed Wally as if he recognized him but made no mention of it.

“This guy bothering you, Kory?”

She flicked him on the cheek. “No, he’s not. And even if he was, I could handle it on my own.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to.”

Dick was mentally facepalming. Of course Jason was her boyfriend. Of course he was _straight_. Why did he ever think he had a chance when the hottest girl he’d ever seen was his girlfriend.

The girl, Kory, smiled and started playing with the hairs on the back of Jason’s neck, but he swatted her hand away.

“Go play with Roy’s hair! That’s what he’s for, isn’t it?”

“I already braided his hair. I want to play with yours now. I like your curls,” she pouted.

“Yeah, well hands off ‘em.” He paused. “Wait, you braided his hair? When?”

“Just a minute ago. You were in the bathroom.”

Jason looked as though he was going to ask something else, but then he noticed Dick, who had been orbiting closer to the group, and made an odd face, a mixture of surprise and apprehension. “What’re you doing here?”

Dick refused to look at Wally, who he knew would be wearing a shit-eating grin, and focused on Jason instead.

"My friend Donna's in town." He gestured to her, and she shook Jason's hand. "We just came to hang out, I guess. Do I need a reason to come to the mall?" He asked sheepishly. "Why are you here? You don't strike me as a typical mall-goer."

Jason looked him squarely in the eye. "We wanted to get away from Park Row for a bit. That a crime?"

"Of course not," Dick said hastily. Kory, Donna, and Wally were all watching this exchange intently, but Dick was saved from further embarrassment when Jason's other friend, Roy walked over and immediately put his arm around Kory's waist, who let go of Jason and wrapped her arms around him. Jason didn't look concerned, but merely snorted and started making fun of Roy's hair, which was done in two neat little braids by his ears.

"Wait, but I thought…" Wally sputtered, looking between the three of them.

Jason seemed to catch what Wally was trying to say because he quickly clarified. "Roy's Kory's boyfriend. She's just very affectionate with her friends, hence the…" He made a vague gesture to his hair. Dick resisted the urge to smile like an idiot.

"So do _you_ have a girlfriend then?" 

Dick's urge to smile was replaced with a strong urge to smack Wally. But smacking Wally would give away why Wally was asking. He felt his face heating up and tried to will himself not to blush, not that it was working.

"What, you wanna ask me out now that she's taken?"

"Nah, I'm just wondering," Wally said, somehow making it sound casual.

"It's not like it's any of your business." His eyes flickered to Dick's, and Dick thought he felt his heart stop. "But no, I don't. Besides, girlfriends aren't really my thing."

There were a lot of ways Dick could interpret that, but he decided to go with the most hopeful option. A guy could dream.

“It was nice meeting you all, but we should probably head out.”

It took Dick a moment to realize it was Donna who had spoken; he was too busy trying to parse what had just happened. He somehow managed to say a graceful goodbye to Jason, though in hindsight he realized he forgot to say anything to Roy and Kory, which was probably very telling. That whole interaction had been a disaster, but at least he may have gotten some key information out of it.

“Dick? Dick!”

He snapped out of his thoughts to find Wally saying his name. They were in the less busy part of the mall now, nearing the door they’d come in a few hours ago. Dick didn’t remember leaving the food court.

“What?”

“Dude, Donna was talking to you, and you were all spaced out.”

“Sorry,” he said guiltily, “I guess my head’s elsewhere.”

“Yeah, no shit! She was asking you about Jason, and if you don’t answer, I will. And I don’t think you’ll like what I’m gonna tell her.” 

“Yeah, no, you’re not allowed to say anything!” He turned to look at Donna, mostly so that he didn’t have to look at Wally. “What did you want to know?” He asked carefully.

Donna raised her eyebrows, and Dick didn't like the little smirk she was wearing.

“I mean, it’s obvious you like him - stop looking at me like that, Dick - and he seemed to like you, so, when are you asking him out?”

Why was she always so blunt?

“I don’t- I mean, I do kind of like him, maybe, but he definitely doesn’t like me, and even if he did, I don’t want to push him or anything-”

“Dick,” Donna cut off his rambling, “you obviously like that boy, and I can see why.”

“Yeah, okay, fine. But did you not hear the part where I said he doesn’t like me?”

“Did you not hear me a minute ago when I said he did?”

“Donna, c’mon. Why would he like me?”

“You’re selling yourself short, Dick,” Wally said, pulling Dick to a stop in front of the doors. Dick wanted to argue, but Donna cut in before he had the chance.

“Wally’s right. You’re usually so confident, but when it comes to something you’re serious about, you always worry.”

“That’s because my only serious relationship didn’t work out,” he told them flatly.

“Babs was a whole different scenario, man. Besides, you two are still friends. I know it was pretty heartbreaking at the time, but you got through it better than most people do,” Wally said.

Dick sighed, aware he was losing a fight he should be siding with his friends on. They seemed to be aware of that too, because Donna smiled and changed the topic back to her original question as they started towards the door.

“I’m not gonna ask him out, Donna!” Dick groaned. “Anyone remember where we parked?”

“I’m just saying, you should go for it. And I’m never wrong,” Donna said at the same time Wally said “We’re one row over. You pulled through, remember?”

Dick frowned until Wally pointed to the bumper of his car, barely visible due to the large truck parked behind it.

“Look, we’re partners for our English project right now. I don’t want to do anything that could make that awkward, so I’ll ask him out after we’re finished. Happy?”

“You should use the project to your advantage,” Wally butt in before Donna could express her dissatisfaction. “You’ve already hung out once at the library, right? You should invite him to the Manor next. That way, you can strategically get him to stay for dinner!”

“That’s a great idea!” Donna said, and Dick sighed. They got in the car, and now he was focused on maneuvering out of the busy parking lot.

“Yeah, except I already thought about that, and I don’t want to overwhelm him with the Manor.”

Then he added, “And I don’t want him to meet Damian. Or Bruce”

“Weren’t you just telling me Bruce was gonna be out of town this weekend? Invite him over on Friday! That way, when you finish the work, it can become a movie night!” Wally high-fived Donna, proud of his idea.

“Really?” Dick scoffed. “That would be so awkward! What do I even say? ‘Hey, so I know we barely hang out outside of school, but would you want to stay and watch a movie just the two of us?’ That’ll be so embarrassing!”

“So invite some other people,” Donna said, as if it were obvious.

Dick wanted to stare at her, long and hard, but he kept his eyes firmly on the road, hands gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary. “We’re working on a project, remember? I can’t just invite people over and expect them to wait for us!”

“I recall you and your siblings sharing some friends, Dick. Have Tim invite Conner and Steph. They can hang out with Tim and Cass, and Jason doesn’t even have to know why they’re there.”

Dick had to admit, it was a good idea, probably because it was Donna’s.

“Fine, I’ll talk to Tim about it, but I don’t even know if Jason’ll agree to come to the Manor, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Dick could see Wally grinning in the rearview mirror but opted to ignore it. He really hoped this crazy plan worked.

Hey Jason! How’s your day been?” Dick asked brightly. Too brightly. Jason looked suspicious already. Dammit. 

"Fine, I guess," he said slowly.

Dick decided to just get to the point. "So, I was just wondering, since we still need to work on the project, are you free this weekend? Say, Friday after school?"

Jason relaxed, and Dick was honestly not sure what he’d been expecting. "I usually work Fridays, but I can take off."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Dick said hurriedly. He didn't want to cause Jason trouble, even if he didn't seem to mind.

"Nah, it's fine. I can pick up an extra shift on Saturday. Library again?"

Dick took a deep breath. He'd already talked with Tim who was happy to have an excuse to ask Kon over, so he really had nothing to lose. "Actually, you could come over to my house if you want. It'd probably be more comfortable, and we wouldn't have to pay for snacks."

There. That sounded casual enough.

But Jason was tapping his pencil against his desk, a motion that could only be a nervous tick. His expression looked pained, and Dick immediately regretted everything he'd just said. "I mean, we don't have to! It was just a suggestion, the library's fine! I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"No, it's just- Bruce Wayne is your dad, right?" He asked with a casual air.

"Adopted dad, yeah. But he won't be there. He has a business trip this weekend."

And just like that, his whole face brightened, and Dick could feel the relief washed through him, not having realized how tense he’d been until that moment. 

"Oh, okay." Jason said, fidgeting with his pencil still but no longer tapping it repeatedly. Dick was glad for that. The noise had been getting annoying. "I guess I'd be okay with that then."

Dick could hardly keep from smiling for the rest of the day. He ran to find Wally as soon as class was let out and told him the news, all the while feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush, which he supposed he basically was.

"I knew he'd say yes! He totally likes you man!"

"Shh! Not so loud in the halls!"

Wally grinned and punched his arm good-naturedly. "You got this! Operation Seduce Jason Todd is underway!"


	4. Operation Seduce Jason Todd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for a mild panic attack towards the end of the chapter - it's written from an outsider perspective, so it's not super descriptive

“Father, please tell Drake that if he wishes to live he should return my sketchbook at once and that I am not responsible for the damage that shall ensue if he does not comply.”

“Uh huh.”

Dick raised an eyebrow at Bruce, who was reading in his armchair, not taking any notice of the fight that was about to break out in front of him.

“You’re acting like I started this?” Tim asked, incredulous, and not surprised at Bruce’s utter lack of reaction.

“Tt-”

“I’ll give you back your stupid drawings if you tell me where the _hell_ you hid my tablet!” He yelled, lunging at Damian, who ducked under the coffee table. It didn’t help much because Tim had gotten a hold of the hood of his sweatshirt, which he pulled. Hard.

“Language,” Bruce said automatically. He raised his head from his book and blinked. “Tim, stop choking your brother.”

“He started it!”

“I did not!”

“Yeah? Then where’s my tablet?”

“How should I know?”

“Boys!” Bruce’s yell startled them both, Tim frozen in the act of wrapping his arms around Damian's neck. Dick sighed. This had been happening a lot lately, and it was causing him, Bruce, and Alfred copious amounts of stress and resulting in a tense household, especially since Bruce was leaving the next day and would be gone until Monday. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to invite Jason over this weekend.

But the damage had already been done, and Dick couldn’t even find it in himself to feel guilty. He’d been jittery and unfocused all week, ever since Jason had agreed to come to the Manor, and not even Tim and Damian could ruin this for him. Since Conner was coming over too, Tim would be too busy ogling him, and Damian had been given permission to invite Jon, who Dick had to admit had a calming effect on his youngest brother. Steph would be there as well - Dick wasn’t sure if that was for Tim’s sake or Cass’ - but he was happy she was coming. Steph was fun and easy to get along with. Jason would like her. Dick just hoped there weren't too many people for him to be comfortable.

It wasn’t until the last class of the day that Dick started to panic. Jason wasn’t even looking at him as they packed up their books, which only served to cause a whole ‘nother rush of emotions to surface. Dick had to remind himself to get his things from his locker every few seconds before he forgot due to stress, but finding Wally there, leaning against it somewhat provocatively, made him rethink that choice. He was already wondering if he could make do this weekend without his backpack when Wally pushed away from the lockers, which made a rattling sound that could almost be heard above the din of students excited for the weekend.

“You excited?” He stage-whispered, probably because Dick yelled at him last time he brought up his crush in public.

“No! I’m literally so nervous right now, Wally! This is gonna be a disaster!”

“Relax, man! You’ve got everything planned, plus who could resist your charms?”

“Not funny,” Dick grumbled, looking around to make sure Jason hadn’t decided to show up.

“Just be grateful I have a track meet this weekend, else I’d show up and embarrass you.”

“As grateful as I am for that,” he groaned, “I’m suddenly not so sure Tim or Damian won’t do it for you.”

Wally, the asshole, just laughed and ran off after wishing him good luck, leaving Dick to stand by his locker and wonder if he should go find Jason or wait for Jason to find him. The latter turned out to be the correct option, as Jason was at his side when he turned around.

"Hey," Dick said, and his voice sounded too loud in his own ears. "You ready to go?" Jason nodded. "Cool. Okay. I saw Tim walk towards the parking lot already, so we should be good to go. A couple of his friends are coming over too by the way. That alright?"

"Doesn't bother me." Jason shrugged. He wasn't in a chatty mood right now, but that was fine. Tim and Steph would talk enough for all of them in the car, so Dick let the silence hover over the two of them as they walked away from the school.

It was Steph who ended up talking the most, though Tim contributed here and there. He was sandwiched in the middle seat between Steph and Conner, and solely through glances via the rearview mirror Dick deduced that his younger brother’s proximity to a certain person was causing his unusual quiet. He wanted to laugh before remembering that he’d hardly spoken the whole drive and that might have to do with Jason’s presence up front. He and Tim both dealing with embarrassing crushes was messing with their usual banter, seeing as neither could make fun of the other without it getting turned back around on them. Dick had been called out on his hypocrisy enough to stop teasing Tim.

The minute they arrived at the Manor was chaos. It was familiar grounds to everyone except Jason, which showed in the hasty greetings to Alfred and the removal of shoes and jackets in the middle of the living room. Tim, suddenly joined by Cass, settled on the couch with Steph and Conner following, Steph practically throwing herself over the nearest armchair with a strange enthusiasm. She met Dick’s raised eyebrows with a “What? You guys have comfy chairs!” Dick laughed and shook his head because Steph was a wild one but basically his sister, until he realized belatedly that Jason wasn’t next to him anymore.

He backtracked, finding Jason still by the door, introducing himself ever so politely to Alfred. Something about the scene made Dick feel warm and fuzzy.

“Well, it is a pleasure to meet any friend of Master Richard’s. I hope you can make yourself comfortable while you are here, and please do not be hesitant to ask for anything.”

Jason looked put off by this sentiment but responded kindly. “Thanks Mr. uh, Alfred. I’ll- I’ll let you know.”

“Hey Alf,” Dick chimed in. “I see you’ve met Jason. I probably should’ve introduced you right away. Sorry.”

“No matter, Master Richard. I have met him now.”

Dick smiled. “Anyway, we have to get this project done, so we’ll be up in my room. Just let us know when dinner’s ready!”

“Of course.”

Dick smiled once more for good measure and because he couldn’t not smile when around Alfred. He started towards the stairs with Jason in tow, who seemed a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of the building.

“I don’t want to intrude, you know,” he said, and Dick turned so he could see his face.

“Hm?” 

“For dinner. I don’t have to stay. I don’t wanna cause your butler any trouble.”

“Oh, it’s fine! Alfred loves cooking for people! And besides, he’s not really our butler. I mean, he technically is, sure, but he’s more like my grandpa. He raised us all more than Bruce did sometimes.”

Jason gave him a funny look, and Dick hastened to add, “Not that Bruce is a bad father! He’s just busy with work sometimes, and he’s a single dad, so Alfred just helped a lot.”

“Oh.”

A beat.

“Does he always call you Master Richard?”

Dick laughed and opened the door to his bedroom, giving Jason a moment to adjust to something that probably stood in utter contrast to whatever he had wherever he lived. “Yeah, it’s kind of his thing. I’m sure he’ll call you Master Jason, and no, you can’t ask him not to. It won’t work.”

Jason made a face at that. It was a really cute face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Dick thought Jason was withdrawing again, until he realized he had simply gotten distracted by the poster of Haly’s Circus on the wall across from his bed.

“That’s where I grew up,” Dick said fondly, moving to stand next to Jason in front of the poster. Some of the memories were sad, yes, but that didn’t stop him from focusing on the happy ones.

“Yeah, circus kid adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne. I remember the news articles.”

“I’m surprised you were paying attention. You must’ve been nine or ten.”

“All the street kids were paying attention.”

Dick wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It hadn’t sounded angry or even jealous, just a fact, but he was saved further deliberation.

“Was it hard?”

“Was what hard?”

“Being adopted? Going from circus life to billionaire life.”

Dick thought for a moment. He knew the answer, he just wasn’t quite sure how to articulate it. “Yeah, it was hard. I guess any big change is hard, but being in the public eye made it worse. I got a lot of bad press at first, mostly because no one expected or wanted Bruce Wayne to adopt a queer Romani kid. It was easier for Tim, since he was born into the upper class. People loved him from the start.”

“You’re pretty popular now, though.”

Dick shrugged, the movement causing their shoulders to brush. “I guess. I’m a friendly person, so I think people just project that onto my public persona. It’s kind of annoying, but at least no one’s out to attack me anymore.”

Jason looked at him with something akin to pity, and boy was that a sight. “Those your parents?” He asked, changing the subject rather abruptly, pointing at the next poster, the one of the Flying Graysons.

“Yeah.”

“I- I know it’s just a poster, but. They look like they were nice people.”

Dick appreciated the sentiment. “They were.”

He wanted to say something else, to tell Jason all the stories of Haly’s, of the trapeze, of his parents, but he was suddenly acutely aware of how close together they were standing and the little space between them. He could feel Jason’s body heat. It was far too pleasant a feeling, and it was beginning to cloud Dick’s mind. Then he remembered why they had come up here in the first place and cleared his throat loudly and awkwardly.

“So, we should probably get started on stuff.”

“Right. Yeah,” Jason agreed, and they moved to sit on the floor, opening their backpacks and spreading their books out between them, just as they’d done at the library.

They worked like this for the next three hours and got more accomplished than Dick had expected. He’d underestimated Jason’s enthusiasm for classic novels, because it turned out that he’d already finished most of the written section of the project, meaning once they put together their presentation, the whole thing would be complete. He hadn’t even realized how much time had passed until Damian flung open the door announcing dinner. Dick tried to ignore the way Jason scrambled to his feet upon the sudden movement.

“Thanks, Dami! How was Maya’s birthday party?” He asked, springing to his feet in a way only an acrobat could and hoping he could get away with not introducing Damian and Jason.

But Damian simply eyed Jason with distrust before taking the bait. “Tt- I don’t know why I have to go to such trivial things as birthday parties!”

“It was fun,” Jon supplied, appearing behind Damian in the doorway. “Who’s that?”

Dick sighed internally. It was already too much to consider that Damian not ask about Jason, but he’d forgotten Jon was there as well. The son of two reporters, he was the most inquisitive kid Dick had ever met, and that included Tim. And of course, before he could manage a polite introduction, Damian answered for him with “That’s the street rat that Grayson goes to school with.”

“Damian! Don’t- You can’t-” he took a deep breath, trying to get his sudden stuttering under control. “You can't just talk to people like that, remember?” Dick could feel his face heating up, and for once in his life he hoped it was as red as it felt. He wanted his embarrassment to be plainly communicated to Jason. 

Damian simply tutted as he walked away with Jon trailing behind like usual. Dick turned to Jason to begin the apology process.

“I’m so sorry. He’s always like that. With everyone. We’re working on it, but he’s usually worse with new people.”

“It’s cool.” To his credit, Jason didn’t look especially bothered, so Dick decided to let it go and led him down to the dining room.

Everyone else was already there and seated with two empty spots next to each other for Dick and Jason. Dick gave Tim a look as he sat down, who responded with his own. He was sitting next to Conner.

“You cannot sit there!”

Dick’s attention was turned to Damian, arguing loudly with Steph, who had chosen to sit in Bruce’s chair at the head of the table. Damian seemed personally offended by this.

“Why not?” She asked, clearly egging him on. She got that trait from Tim. 

“That’s Father’s seat!”

“He’s not here, is he?”

“No, but you cannot sit there! There is an empty seat next to Jon’s brother.” Damian never referred to Conner by name. “Sit there.”

“Maybe I don’t wanna sit next to Kon.” She shrugged at Conner, who made a face between mock offense and obvious amusement. Damian took the opportunity to lunge at her, and, Bruce being gone, it fell to Dick to intervene, so he got up quickly and stepped between the two before Damian could cause any lasting damage.

“Okay, how about we all calm down? Damian, no attacking the guests! Steph, would you _please_ just sit next to Kon?”

“Since you asked so nicely,” she said brightly, earning a glare from Damian, who huffed dramatically and plopped down into his seat by Jon.

The upside of this chaotic beginning to dinner was that Jason looked significantly more relaxed. He leaned back in his chair and threw Dick an amused glance when they caught each other’s eyes. It sent a thrill down Dick’s spine, and he would’ve endured any of Damian’s antics if it meant Jason would keep looking at him like that.

“I can’t believe you haven’t seen the original _Star Trek_ ,” Tim was saying when Dick forced himself to pay attention to the conversation that had started.

“I saw the new movies. Does that not count?”

“Bad move, Kon,” Steph said after swallowing a too-big bite of Alfred’s lasagna. “As hot as Chris Pine is, he doesn’t compare to the sheer theatrics of William Shatner, and I’m willing to bet this is one of the few things Tim would physically fight you on.”

“She’s not wrong, and we’re changing this tonight,” Tim said with all the righteous indignation of Damian faced with someone insulting his pets. “I don’t know if you had a movie planned already, Dick, but we’re watching _Star Trek_ now.”

“That’s fine. I honestly hadn’t planned anything. Was gonna leave it up to everyone else to decide.”

No one else objected, excepting Damian, but Dick hardly registered that since he objected to everything. They ate their meal through noisy conversations and arguments over whether the _Star Wars_ prequels were works of art or total shit, Tim the only one who held the former view. He claimed that “they were so bad that they were good, and that made them cinematic masterpieces.” No one else took his side, and he found himself wildly outnumbered.

By the time they’d finished both their argument and their food, even Damian was grudgingly excited for movie night. After surrendering to Alfred’s demands that no one help him with the dishes, Dick caught Jason’s arm as they all filed out of the kitchen, pulling him back into the room.

“You know you can stay, right? For _Star Trek_?”

“Yeah, I know, but I have to go anyways.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to think you’re intruding because you’re definitely not! We’d all love it if you stayed.”

“Thanks, but I told you I have to get back. We always have to be back by eight unless we’re- Unless we have permission, which I don’t.” Jason looked uncomfortable, but Dick didn’t want to let this go, not after he’d been planning it all week.

“Can you get permission?”

“Not for this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Jeez, just let me go already!”

Dick didn’t realize he still had Jason’s wrist clenched in his hand and dropped it immediately, snatching his own hand back as if it were burned.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Where’s the nearest bus stop?”

“Bus stop?” Dick stared dumbly before understanding what Jason was implying. “No, no, I can drive you!”

“I don’t wanna inconv-”

“It’s not an inconvenience! Besides, I’ve seen _Star Trek_ way too many times. Tim’s obsessed.”

Jason looked hesitant but conceded to Dick’s pleading after some well-placed puppy dog eyes, of which Dick was very proud. He left Jason to put on his shoes in the hall and went to let the others know where he was going.

“I’m heading out to take Jason home. Please don’t kill Damian while I’m gone,” he added with a pointed look at Tim.

“Wait, hang on, can I talk to you before you go?”

“Jason’s already waiting for me, Tim.”

Tim frowned. “But I need your help with this before you leave! Something’s up with the TV.”

“Fine but make it quick.” Dick threw his jacket onto the coffee table and joined Tim on the couch. He fiddled with the remote for a minute, ignoring Tim looking over his shoulder and pointing out everything he was doing wrong.

“Just fix it yourself then!”

“I can. There’s actually nothing wrong with it. I just wanted to ask you about Jason.” Tim smirked.

“You’re the worst. I can’t believe you let me mess with this thinking it was broken.”

“Well, I wanted to see how long it would take you to realize I’d lied, but then I got impatient. Anyway,” he waved Dick off before he could interrupt, “Why’s he leaving?" He whispered conspiratorially. "I thought the whole plan was to get him to stay for movie night? Maybe initiate some cuddling?” Tim asked his last question suggestively, and Dick was starting to hate his little brother.

“Okay first of all, you better have a plan for you and Kon too, and second, Jason can’t be out late. And no, he didn’t give me details, but he needs to get back. And since I’m a good friend, I’m not pressuring him, okay?”

Tim shrugged. “Sure, at least you get alone time in the car with him.”

Dick was probably blushing again. He did that a lot lately. “Yeah, whatever. Just keep it PG here, okay?” This earned him an eyeroll, but he hadn’t expected much else. He nudged Tim playfully, but his brother turned away abruptly at the sound of Conner calling his name.

“Yeah? Oh shit, Steph!”

The sudden panic in Tim’s voice bothered Dick, and he peered over Tim’s shoulder to see Steph slinking against the wall looking like she was about to collapse on the floor. Conner stood next to her looking horrified.

“Shit!” Tim swore, and he was at her side before Dick could process what was happening. “Steph, you with me? Are you okay? What’s going on?”

But she wasn’t answering, just shaking her head, which was hidden in her hands, and making pathetic noises that sounded like a mix between sobbing and hyperventilating. 

“Dick, what’s going on? I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Tim was saying, and Dick could only shake his head wordlessly. Everyone else had come running and crowded around her after hearing Tim’s panicked cries, and he was dimly aware that someone should call Alfred. 

But then Jason was there, angrily pushing them away and crouching next to Steph, who didn’t seem to have any awareness of the people around her.

“Steph? Can you hear me?” He spoke gently, calmly, and his hands hovered over her shoulders without actually touching her. He waited until she nodded ever so slightly to continue. “I’m gonna start counting, okay? I want you to focus on the sound of my voice and count with me when you’re able, okay?”

She nodded again, more quickly this time, and Jason began to count, slow and steady, from one and got all the way to 83 before Steph started mumbling along. They counted together for another 34, stopping at 117 when Steph had to clear her throat.

“Someone get her some water,” Jason said, turning his head to address the group now on the other side of the room.

Dick moved to the kitchen before anyone else could and returned moments later with the tallest glass he’d been able to find. He handed it to Jason, who handed it a bit more carefully to Steph. Dick was able to catch a little bit of their low conversation before he moved away to give them some space.”

“Focus on your surroundings,” Jason was saying. “List some of the things you see and then some of the things you can feel.”

Steph started mumbling again, but Dick was too far away to hear. By the time Jason felt that Steph was calm enough not to need him, it was after eight, and Dick wasn't sure whether or not he should be worried.

"Is this going to be a problem?" He asked once the two of them were in the car and driving away.

"Hm?" Jason asked absentmindedly.

"Getting back late?"

Jason didn't answer, and Dick decided not to push it. He'd already seemed reluctant to have Dick drive him.

"How'd you know what to do with Steph?" He asked instead.

"It's not my first time helping someone through a panic attack." Dick didn’t know what to make of that, but he was grateful Jason had been there. It seemed he had a lot of hidden talents, things Dick didn’t know about him.

"Do you know why she- what caused it?"

He could see Jason shrug in his peripheral. "She didn't wanna talk about it. Triggers can be anything. It probably wasn't anyone's fault."

Dick hummed, and they didn't talk for the remainder of the drive except for Jason's occasional directions. He led Dick to an apartment building just down the street from the shop where he worked, and Dick drove away with the distinct feeling that it wasn't where Jason lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [tumblr](https://epistemologys.tumblr.com/)


	5. Ma Gunn's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw for mentions of child abuse. You can probably gather the general idea from the title.
> 
> This'll definitely be 7 chapters by the way, so we've got two more weeks of this

Jason wasn't at school on Monday. Dick tried not to worry. Maybe he was just sick. 

But then he didn't show up on Tuesday. Or Wednesday. And at that point Dick decided to take action. He may not know for certain where Jason lived, but he knew where he worked, and he knew two of his friends. If he couldn't find Jason, he could at least ask Roy.

That was how Dick found himself standing outside the garage, a stack of Jason's homework in hand as a convenient excuse for why he was visiting. Taking a deep breath he pushed open the door, which collided with an oil covered Roy. 

“Ow, shit!”

“Sorry! I didn’t realize you were there!”

“It’s fine,” Roy waved a hand absentmindedly and rubbed his nose with the other. “Oh. Dick, what’re you doing here?”

“Jason hasn’t been at school the past few days, so I brought his homework. I didn’t know how else to contact him.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll appreciate being able to get caught up. Thanks for that.” He reached out as if to take the stack from Dick, who only held onto it tighter.

“Is he here right now?”

“No,” Roy said flatly.

“Is he going to be here later?”

“No.”

“Well then where is he?” Dick asked, exasperated. “I want to talk with him! Is he sick or something? Where’s he been?”

Roy looked sympathetic and motioned for Dick to come all the way inside the garage instead of loitering in the doorway. “Jason hasn’t been feeling so great. That’s why he hasn’t been at school.” He picked up some tools that Dick couldn’t name and started organizing them.

“When will he be back?”

“I dunno.” Roy wiped the sweat from his forehead but only managed to smear more oil across it. “Maybe not till next week? I’ll ask him.”

“Can I? Ask him, I mean. I want to talk to him.”

Roy looked uncomfortable and didn’t look up from whatever he was working on. “Look, I don’t think he really wants to see anyone right now, okay? I’ll tell him you came by, and you can talk to him when he goes back to school.”

Dick huffed but could tell he wasn’t going to get anything more from Roy, no matter how much he pouted. So he thanked him politely for his help, dropped Jason’s homework onto the first uncluttered table he saw, and left, feeling rather dejected. He hadn’t seen Jason since he’d dropped him off Friday night, and truth be told, he was missing him. And maybe a little worried too. Roy had been cryptic, and that was most likely not a good sign. Dick had reason to suspect there was more going on, but thinking about it was beginning to hurt his head, and Tim was calling him obsessed. Maybe it was time he dropped it. Jason would be back at school eventually.

Only he didn't show up on Thursday, and Dick made the decision that if he still wasn't there on Friday, he would march to Roy and demand to see him.

Which is exactly what he did Friday afternoon. Jason hadn't shown up all week, and now Dick was beginning to panic.

"Dick, c'mon, he doesn't want to see you."

This was hurtful, but Dick didn't let it show. "Please, Roy!" He pleaded.

Roy sighed heavily and looked Dick straight on. "There's a free clinic two blocks from here. It's owned by Leslie Thompkins."

"I know her! She's a friend of Bruce's," Dick interrupted.

Roy looked at him quizzically. He obviously hadn't expected that. "Yeah, anyway, you should stop by there. That's all I'm saying."

Dick wasn't sure how he felt about the implications of being told to check out a clinic, but he smiled gratefully and made his way towards it. He took his phone out to look for it on Google Maps, only to realize that was not a good idea in a place called Crime Alley and quickly hid it in his pocket. Roy had pointed him in the right direction and it was only two blocks away. He found it without two much trouble, another small unassuming building sandwiched between two dilapidated ones.

Dick took a moment to read the sign and assure he was in the right place before he marched in, walking straight past the main desk where no one was currently sitting towards the only other door in the building. He swung it open without hesitation only to find a bedridden Jason covered in bandages with a sling on one arm. A nasty looking bruise covered one side of his face, already fading, and Dick tried not to imagine what it must've looked like fresh.

"What happened?"

Jason looked surprised at Dick's sudden arrival and struggled to sit up a little straighter but only managed to sink further into the pile of pillows on which he was propped up. "Dick!" He sounded surprised. "What are you- How did you know I was here?"

"Roy," Dick said flatly.

"That bastard!" Jason hissed. "I told him not to tell you!"

Dick could feel his face heating up like it often did around Jason, but for once it wasn't a blush. There was a small part of him that rationalized that Jason was hurt and this was not the time to yell at him. Unfortunately the rest of his logic was being quickly eaten up by anger at both Jason's current condition and the fact that he'd tried to hide it.

"What the hell, Jason? What happened?"

"Nothing. It's fine, I just- I got into a fight. Didn't go well."

Dick rolled his eyes at the obvious lie but sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. He reached out slowly and took Jason's hand, not wanting to hurt him or cause him any discomfort. But Jason accepted the gesture, entwining their fingers together. Dick fought back a smile. He was still angry, and this small gesture wasn't going to make him forget that.

"Jason, please! Tell me what happened! You've been gone all week, and, no offense, you look like shit."

"Yeah, I'm aware. Roy's told me that multiple times now."

"Jason-"

"Dick," Jason interrupted, and he had that intense look in his eyes that had first drawn Dick to him, pinning him to the wall under his gaze. "It's not really any of your business, and frankly, I don't want to talk about it. So either we talk about something else, or you leave. Your choice."

And now his gaze held something full of pain, and Dick felt all his anger vanish in an instant. He smiled and squeezed Jason's hand, gently but enough to convey what he was feeling, he hoped.

"Mrs. Lance gave us extra time for our project since you weren't there all week. Do you think you'll be there Monday?" Dick asked in an attempt to change the subject at least a little. And he wouldn't admit it, but he loved the way Jason's face lit up when talking about literature.

"I should be okay by then, but I guess I should check with Leslie. We can work on it some more this weekend if you want," he offered, and yes, Dick would like that.

"Maybe on Sunday. Give you more time to rest."

"I've been resting all damn week! I wanna do something!"

Dick held up his hands in surrender. "I'm busy tomorrow anyway, and I didn't bring any of my stuff with me right now, so it'll have to be Sunday."

Jason groaned and plopped his head into the mound of pillows. "This sucks."

Dick smiled sympathetically. "Were you just reading that?" He asked, pointing to the worn copy of poetry by Sylvia Plath, which sat on the bedside table. Jason nodded, and Dick picked up the book, ignoring the confused glance sent his way. Settling more comfortably on the edge of the bed, Dick began to read.

"What're you doing?" Jason interrupted, barely letting him start the first line of the bookmarked poem.

"Reading to you. What's it look like?"

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to! You've been here reading by yourself all week. Let me keep you company."

Jason blushed lightly but nodded for him to continue. Dick began the poem again, feeling a bit smug about it this time. By the time he had to leave, he'd read aloud for over half an hour and finished the entire collection of poetry. 

When Dick went back on Sunday, Jason was sitting up on the edge of the bed, both legs wrapped in bandages. He tried not to let his attention be eaten up by all the injuries, especially when he noticed Jason glaring when he stared for too long. 

They worked on their project for the next half hour, but there wasn't much to do. Jason, despite being hurt and missing the last week of school, seemed more prepared than Dick. He'd thrown himself into his schoolwork seeing as he couldn't do much else while consigned to his bed.

They read in silence after finishing their work, and Dick wanted to give Jason his privacy and not push him, but it was getting harder and harder not to ask what happened, especially when the injuries heavily resembled a beating. There was really only one conclusion Dick could draw, and he didn't like it. He’d already tried asking subtly, but each time had proved fruitless, so maybe he needed to be more direct.

"Can you just tell me if someone's hurting you, Jay?" Dick blurted suddenly after minutes of complete quiet. "I can help! Bruce can help!"

"Bruce can't help!" Jason snapped. "All of this is his fault in the fucking first place!"

Dick squinted. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Nevermind,” Jason quickly backtracked.

"No, Jay, please!”

Jason let out a sigh and winced at the pain the slight movement caused. "It's a long story."

"I can listen. I won't interrupt."

Jason didn't look as though he believed him but cleared his throat anyway. "When I was thirteen, I boosted the tires off a nice car parked in Crime Alley one night. My mom had just died, and I needed money 'cause I knew I'd be living on the streets as soon as the landlord found out. Turned out it was your dad's car, and he caught me lifting the last tire. Thought he was gonna have me arrested, but instead he offered me a meal and told me he'd get me help. And of course, I was an idiot and believed him. He dropped me off at a place called Ma Gunn's Home for Boys. Must've thought it was a decent group home or something, but it wasn't. It's not."

Jason coughed a little, clearing his throat again before continuing. "Ma teaches us how to be criminals there, and I'm probably the only one who doesn't want to learn. I'm usually able to deal, but when I got back late on Friday and they'd found out where I'd been, and then I refused to help them case your house, Ma told the older guys to 'teach me a lesson' as she put it. Meaning beat the shit outta me for not bein’ a total asshole."

Dick could only stare, horrified.

"And it's all Bruce fucking Wayne's fault ‘cause he stuck me there in the first place! I'm not stupid! I know I can't just run away! I can't go ta school if I'm livin’ on the streets! I mean, what else was I s’posed ta do?"

And Dick had no answer to that. Bruce had always known how to fix anything; it appalled him to think that this was his fault. And even if Bruce could fix this, would Jason even want him to? He had every reason not to trust him, which put Dick in a very difficult situation.

He left feeling conflicted and confused.

“I just don’t know what to do! I can’t tell Bruce because Jason would kill me, but I need to tell Bruce if I want to help Jason! And I know he doesn’t want the help, but he needs it, he really does!” Dick groaned and dropped his head into his arms from where he sat at the kitchen counter. Alfred looked on sympathetically but not pausing as he chopped vegetables for dinner.

“Perhaps you should give Master Bruce some of the information but not in its entirety,” he pointed out tactfully.

Dick lifted his head enough to look at him, keeping his chin resting on his arms. “What do you mean?”

“Simply that you could inform Master Bruce of Jason’s need for help without divulging any sensitive information. And then perhaps talk with your friend again without pushing him to follow your agenda, however right you believe you are."

Of course Alfred was right. Alfred was always right. Dick told him so.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Master Richard, while it is not entirely correct. Master Bruce happens to be home today and is currently in his study. I would suggest speaking with him sooner rather than later.”

“Good idea! I’ll talk to him now! Thanks, Alf!”

Dick dashed down the hallway, but once he got there, he stood in front of the study door for a moment, gathering the courage to knock. It was silly, he went to Bruce’s office all the time, but something about the conversation he was preparing to have intimidated him. He waited for another thirty seconds before knocking and heard a curt “Come in” almost immediately.

“Hey Bruce, can I talk to you about something?”

Bruce looked over the top of whatever form he was reading and then set it gingerly on a stack of similar papers. “Of course, Dick.”

Dick released a breath and pulled a chair up across the desk. “So, do you remember when I asked you if a friend could come over to work on a project last week when you were gone?”

“Yes,” Bruce said slowly, looking more suspicious than Dick would have liked.

“Yeah, okay, so, his name is Jason, and he’s kinda- he needs help. Like, billionaire pulling strings kind of help, if you know what I mean.”

Bruce squinted. “I’m not quite sure I do. Could you be more specific?”

“Not really. I think he needs to tell you the details himself.” Dick squirmed in his seat. He hated sitting still, especially now. “But the thing is, he doesn’t want your help, but he needs help. And maybe it doesn’t have to be from you, but I don’t know who else to ask about it. So, could you just agree to talk to him and not ask anymore questions for now?”

Bruce folded his hands in front of him and put on his business face as Dick thought of it. “I suppose I could. But what makes you think he’ll agree, seeing as he doesn’t want my help as you so eloquently put it.”

“I’m gonna talk to him. I’ll make sure he does, I promise.” Dick wasn’t sure if this would actually work, but he thought it was worth a try. It was for Jason. He had to try.

When Dick finally got around to talking to Jason about Bruce, he’d already been back at school for four days. They’d spoken in between classes, short conversations caught here and there, but Dick wanted to give Jason space, given the amount of attention he was getting from being gone for so long and then suddenly returning with a cast and a sling. They’d given their presentation on Monday, and now that it was over, Dick didn’t want to lose his excuse to hang out together.

Thursday afternoon Dick found himself lingering near Jason’s locker. Jason, to his credit, noticed his uneasy shuffling and packed up slowly, allowing the mass of students to gradually dwindle until there wasn’t anyone nearby.

“Something the matter?”

Dick started. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you’ve been acting kinda strange all week, especially today. Nervous. What’s up?” Jason huffed, and Dick hadn’t realized he’d been paying attention.

“Oh, well. I guess I just wanted to talk with you about something.”

Jason seemed to think that over before deciding that the phrase wasn’t particularly threatening. “You wanna go somewhere?” was all he said, and maybe he knew what Dick was wanting to say, to ask.

“I’m sure there’s an empty classroom around here somewhere.”

It didn’t take long to find a vacant room at the other end of the hall, which Dick resented because he’d hoped to use the time looking to rehearse what he was going to say. While it wasn’t like he hadn’t already played out this conversation in his head hundreds of times all week, he wouldn’t have said no to a little extra time.

“Okay, spit it out.” Jason was already seated on top of the teacher’s desk, leaving Dick to either take a student’s seat or remain standing. He didn’t like either option and instead chose to mirror Jason by sitting on the closest desk.

“I wanted to talk to you about Bruce. And about helping you.”

Dick paused to give Jason a chance to object, but he just said, “I figured,” and gestured for Dick to continue.

“I told him that I had a friend who was in a bad situation, and he said he’d be happy to help. I didn’t give any details or remind him about the stuff you told me. I just wanted to let you know that he can help and is willing to.”

Jason crossed his arms, looking defiant, but said nothing. Dick continued. “And you don’t have to accept his help, but I think it might be good to at least talk to him. You can explain the situation. I’m sure he’d be downright horrified to know what’s going on there, and he’d probably want to fix it, you know?”

“So you think he can just fix all his mistakes with his money or something? ‘Cause anything he can do won’t change what happened, what he did!”

Dick winced. “No! I just meant that, well, Bruce really is a good person. And yeah, he made a mistake, but I know him, and I know that even without that mistake, he’d want to get rid of that place anyway. It wouldn’t have anything to do with you.”

Jason scoffed, but Dick interrupted him before he could make another objection. “I’m asking that you let him help, not just for your sake but everyone else’s in that place. I want you out of there, sure, but I also think Ma Gunn should probably be arrested, whether she has anything to do with you or not.”

“Like that would do anything. The system’s corrupt. How do you know she’d even go to jail? Half the kids there are criminals too! They’ll either end up on the streets or in a gang.”

“You underestimate Bruce’s influence. That’s why we need his help. I wasn’t a big fan of the whole billionaire thing when I was adopted, but in the right hands, it can be incredibly useful.”

“And his hands are the right hands?” Jason asked, and Dick could see the doubt radiating off him.

“I think so. I trust him, and I’m asking you to trust me.”

Jason looked him in the eye and held the stare as if daring him to back down. But Dick didn’t; he held his own gaze, wanting Jason to know he was serious about this, and finally, Jason dropped his head, looking down at his feet, which dangled off the edge of the desk. When he looked back up, his expression had changed into something more honest, more hopeful.

“I trust you, Dickie.”


	6. Coup de Foudre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coup de foudre (literally "strike of lightning") is a common French idiom referring to the exact moment in which someone falls in love. It's similar to the English "love at first sight," except it doesn't actually have to be when you first see them. (This chapter title is the reason I named my chapters at all)

Dick sat on the couch, leg bouncing as he tried to get his nerves under control. Bruce was currently at Jason’s garage (Jason had adamantly refused to speak to him at the Manor, claiming that it was “Wayne’s turf”). And since Bruce hadn’t allowed Dick to come with him, even after Dick had begged and promised to wait in the car, he instead found himself sitting on the couch in the living room and pathetically pretending to watch the TV. Tim sat on the other end, idly texting someone, probably Conner.

“Can you stop that?” He finally snapped, and Dick looked sheepishly at his still bouncing leg.

“Honestly, I’m not sure at this point.”

Tim rolled his eyes and pointedly got up and sat in the armchair opposite him. “I get you’re worried, but there’s nothing you can do but wait.

“I know, but Bruce has been gone for a while now, and I still haven’t heard anything,” he sighed. “Distract me, Tim!”

“With what?”

“Anything!”

Tim looked mildly annoyed, but then his shoulders curled in, his face turning red. “Well, in that case, you should know that I’m going on a date with Kon tomorrow.” He didn’t sound as confident as Dick would have expected him to be, but that didn’t matter because Dick was still processing that his little brother had finally gotten a date with the guy he’d been crushing on for the past year.

“Tim!” He screeched. “You got a date before me, and you didn’t even think to say anything until now?”

“It just happened yesterday!” He said defensively. “And I haven’t told Bruce, so please don’t say anything!”

Dick practically catapulted himself off the couch to hug his brother, squeezing him tightly until he complained of a lack of air.

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave telling B to you,” Dick said, giving Tim’s shoulders another, more gentle squeeze. “I’m so happy for you, Timmy.”

Tim rolled his eyes fondly. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, now you have no excuse. You better ask Jason out and soon. I’m not sure how much longer I can take all this pining.”

Dick shoved him and was about to retort when his phone buzzed once. A text from Bruce.

 **B:** _Everything went well. Jason has agreed to stay at the Manor until we can find a suitable living arrangement for him. In the meantime, I will be making sure Ma Gunn’s is thoroughly investigated._

Dick couldn’t keep the smile off his face. This was better than he’d anticipated.

“Good news?” Tim asked.

Dick showed him the text, and Tim looked up with wide eyes after processing the information. “Okay first, now you really have no excuse not to ask him out. Second, you do realize this means he’s not only gonna be living with us but also with Damian.

Dick’s smile disappeared. 

The Manor was big, but the idea of an extra guest seemed stifling to all its inhabitants. Something about a new person living with them, even if it was only for a few weeks, was bothersome, Dick knew that. He also knew that Damian would have the hardest time adjusting to this sudden change, which was something he wanted to minimize if at all possible. And Damian being the first to greet Jason at the door when he returned with Bruce was something he’d wanted to avoid.

“Father, why does this street urchin have to stay with us?” And there was the reason why.

Bruce, thankfully, reprimanded him before Dick could. “Damian, Jason is our guest, and I expect you to treat him as such. Language like that won’t be tolerated, do you understand?”

“Tt. Yes,” Damian huffed, and Dick figured that was as good as he was going to get. 

“Dick, I assume you’ll want to show him around,” Bruce said, addressing Dick now. He nodded, and Bruce took that as his cue to leave, heading for his study after giving one last polite welcome to Jason.

Jason looked slightly uncomfortable, but Dick sensed it was due to the Manor itself more than Bruce, which he counted as a win. He was glad their talk had gone well, especially since he’d been the one to push for it and didn’t want a Jason who was angry with him.

“Is that _Treasure Island_?” Jason asked abruptly, pointing to the book under Damian’s arm, who was still there trying to discreetly survey Jason’s meager backpack.

“Maybe. What’s it to you?”

Jason looked unamused at his defiant attitude but thankfully didn’t rise to the occasion. He really was remarkable, Dick thought. “Nothing. I just loved that book when I was around your age. Still do, it’s a great one.”

“I’m surprised you were reading this. I’m told it’s above average level for my age,” Damian tutted proudly.

Jason didn’t take the bait. “Yeah, well, I didn’t have a lot of other things to entertain myself with,” he said, maybe a tad more sharply than necessary. “Do you like it though?”

Damian considered it for a moment before nodding sagely. “It is acceptable. You have good taste.” Then he turned and walked towards the stairs, leaving Dick to feel absolutely bewildered at the scene that had just unfolded.

“I think you just got his approval through your good taste in literature,” Dick sputtered.

“Well, it’s the only way I was going to, and if I’m gonna be staying here, I needed to get on his good side. It helped that he was holding one of my favorite’s though.”

Dick smiled and added that fact to his mental list of things about Jason. Then, grabbing his hand without any warning, he whisked him off through the house, determined to show him every nook and cranny. They explored together, and the more normalcy Jason saw, the more he relaxed until they ended up on the second floor hallway where Dick’s room was, one of the only rooms Jason had been in the first time he’d visited.

"And this is the room Alfred prepared for you. Mine's directly across from it, so I'll be right across the hall if you need anything." Dick opened the door after noticing Jason seemed hesitant to do so himself. "It's pretty big and also very empty since no one’s been using it, but on the plus side, you've got the best view of the gardens!" Dick said brightly.

"That I have to see." Jason dumped his backpack on the floor by the bed, leaving it to go open the curtains and admire the view. Dick was glad that he liked it. Jason didn't seem to like a lot of things at the Manor.

He followed Jason over to the window after noticing him struggling to open it; the locks had always been stubborn. "One last thing. This is for you," Dick said, pulling a smartphone out of his pocket. Jason glanced over and did a double take when he noticed what it was.

"No, Dick. I can't accept that."

"Please? It's mostly just so Bruce can feel better about having a way to contact you. I know it's probably fancier than you'd want, but it's what he got. Plus, this way we can text!"

Jason huffed but took it anyway, sliding his fingers over the smooth screen.

"I've already put all the important numbers in there and labeled them, so if you need to contact me or Alfred or something, you're good to go."

Jason smiled, and Dick's heart still fluttered every time he did. "Thanks, Dick."

“How about I show you the library?” He asked, changing the subject.

“You have a library here?”

Dick grinned. “Yeah, I figured you hadn’t seen it last time you were here. I think you’ll like it. We’ve got a ton of books!”

Jason’s face when he saw the manor library was something Dick would cherish forever. He would never get tired of seeing the passion that overtook his expression when faced with something he loved, especially when he knew Jason didn’t let just anyone see him like that. He settled into the chair by the window after picking out _The Count of Monte Cristo_ the moment he’d seen Dumas’ name on the spine, while Dick sat on the floor next to him, putting in earphones to watch a movie on his phone without leaving the room.

Adjusting to Jason’s presence in the Manor was going to be far too easy.

Two weeks later found Dick and Jason both laid out on the floor of Dick’s room, not really doing homework, but with their books in front of them. It was a Saturday evening, and they were simply killing time before Dick had to leave for another one of Bruce’s galas. He didn’t want to go, didn’t want to leave Jason, but they’d spent so much time together these past two weeks, and he couldn’t really complain. But after checking his phone to find that it was already 6:15, Dick realized he’d have to head out, as much as it pained him to leave.

He stood up, stretching catlike as he arched his back, and his stomach flipped when he noticed Jason's eyes tracking the movement, flicking away when caught.

"I should probably get going. Bruce won't like it if I'm late," he said, grabbing his jacket off the back of his desk chair.

Jason frowned. "Do you have to go?"

"You gonna miss me?" Dick grinned back, and Jason rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Nah, it's just gonna get boring here without you to make fun of!"

"Well, Alfred'll be here, and I have it on good authority that you actually like him." Not that anyone couldn't like Alfred, Dick thought. He rummaged through the mess on his desk for his wallet. "Plus, I'll have my phone on me the whole night, and I'll probably be texting you about how miserable I am."

"I look forward to that conversation," Jason laughed.

"It'll mostly be me complaining, but I'm sure you'll get some kind of sadistic joy out of it."

"Oh, I definitely will!"

Dick started towards the door, stopping when he felt something tap his arm. He turned to see Jason holding a small, black umbrella, the one that usually resided in the side pocket of his backpack. Dick had noticed it there before.

"You should take an umbrella. It's supposed to rain. Don't want your perfectly styled hair to get ruined."

And maybe it was the close proximity they'd been in all day, or the same intense look in Jason's eyes, or the small gesture that proved he cared more than Dick initially realized, but he was suddenly struck with the thought that he might do anything for Jason Todd. He might just be in love with this boy, and as scary a thought as that was, Dick embraced it with all the fervor of someone returning to a lover they'd known all their life. It felt a little bit like flying on a trapeze and a little bit like the last time he'd hugged his parents, and Dick was sure he'd never give this up for anything.

His eyes landed on Jason's, and for once he felt calm and sure in his presence, no anxiety creeping its way in, just the comforting knowledge that he would never abandon Jason and the hope that that loyalty went both ways.

"Thanks, Jay. I'll see you when I get back."

And Dick left the room, smiling wider than he had in years, and if he was distracted and humming to himself the rest of the night, well, Bruce couldn’t really blame him for that.

The party was dull. Dick usually liked these parties, despite what he may have told Jason, but his heart really wasn’t in socializing with all of Bruce’s pretentious “friends” anymore than it was in raiding the snack table with Babs, something he usually found great pleasure in. They had a game of who could sneak out the most hors d'oeuvres. Babs always won, somehow, even though her dresses never had pockets, but tonight he was falling behind astronomically. 

“Maybe you should ask Bruce if you can leave,” Babs said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder while surreptitiously snatching a lobster roll with the other. 

“He said I had to stay until at least 10:30, so I only have another hour, but thanks.”

“Don’t look so glum! If you try hard enough, you might be able to catch up to me. I’m going on seventeen, and I haven’t even tried to get those little things of mixed nuts yet.”

Dick scoffed. “Oh, you’re on!”

He still lost. By 10 Babs had almost single handedly emptied the entire snack table, and Dick remembered why he liked it when she came to parties with him. They used to play the same game before they were dating, a chance to flirt in ways they couldn’t around their friends, and a part of him missed those days. Dick used to look forward to these things all week, and now he was miserable, moping visibly in front of every important person he met.

Every time he thought of Jason it brought the smile back to his face, but he hadn’t anticipated missing him this much. Two weeks of staying together and suddenly he couldn’t stand to be apart from him for more than an hour. Dick leaned over the edge of the balcony that he’d taken refuge on, only to be startled out of his thoughts by his phone buzzing in his pocket. He tried not to smile stupidly when he saw a text from Jason, and thankfully no one else was out there because he was pretty sure he failed miserably.

 **Jay:** _You still at your party??_

_yeah_

_I have to stay till 10:30_

**Jay:** _It’s like 10:15 now_

_yeah I know_

_im hiding on the balcony rn and its cold_

**Jay:** _Cool_

 **Jay:** _Stay where you are_

Dick furrowed his eyebrows at that, puzzled but remained where he was until he got another text a few minutes later.

 **Jay:** _Look down_

And Dick did, only to see Jason standing below the balcony wearing a big grin and what Dick was positive was his sweatshirt. He held a motorcycle helmet in one hand, and Dick couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him because that meant he must’ve stolen Bruce’s bike.

“Hey you!” He called down, grinning back as he spoke. “You here to rescue me?”

“You bet! Who needs all this rich people stuff? I’ll bet I can take you somewhere better!”

“That a challenge?”

“Definitely!”

The smirk on Jason’s face that Dick could barely make out in the dark was calling to him. It was close enough to 10:30, and he deserved to leave after being, if not the model child, at least physically present all evening. He dashed back into the building, stopping only to tell Babs he was leaving and accept a sly “Good luck” and a peck on the cheek. 

By the time he’d made it out the door, Jason had pulled the bike up to the front, and Dick would be lying if he said Jason on it wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever seen. After catching the helmet tossed to him, he straddled the back of the bike and wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist, delighting in the warmth that made him forget it was almost winter. Dick didn’t even ask where they were going, just held onto Jason and didn’t fight the urge to snuggle closer than necessary.

By the time Jason had pulled to a stop, Dick had no idea where they were, but he didn't care. It was too dark to see, and all he could tell was that they were parked at the top of a hill. The wind had died down by now, allowing Dick a chance to let his muscles relax after tensing from the cold of the ride. And when Jason held out a hand, leading him away from the bike and towards the edge of the hill, Dick didn’t hesitate. He was only mildly surprised to see a small crowd of people down below them, but Jason didn’t seem intent on joining and instead settled on the grass where they were. Dick sat next to him and leaned their shoulders together. Jason didn’t move away.

“Care to explain?”

Jason shushed him. “You’ll see in just a sec.”

Dick frowned but didn’t have to wait long because suddenly there were fireworks exploding into the night sky, lighting it up with brilliant reds and golds. It was loud, and they left a lot of smoke, but the colors were beautiful, and Jason was looking at him expectantly.

“How’d you know about this?” Dick breathed.

“Word about things like this always gets out around Park Row. Thought you might like it better than that fancy ass party.”

And Dick could hardly contain the smile on his face. It felt like all the happiness inside him was threatening to spill out because his body just couldn’t contain it all, and he was almost sure that the reflection of the fireworks in Jason’s eyes was an exact representation of what that might look like. “I love it. Thank you.”

Jason didn’t say anything, and when Dick leaned his head against his shoulder, he reached out and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. The fireworks cracked above them, and every sound had Dick falling harder and harder in love, as if all those explosions in the sky were Jason himself and each one was screaming how much he needed to be loved by Dick.

They were essentially cuddling now, with Dick leaning all of himself into Jason and Jason’s arms wrapped tightly around him. All it took was a turn of his head, brief and minute, for their lips to be mere centimeters apart. Dick could feel Jason’s breath against his mouth, blowing warm puffs that he could see against the chill of the air.

They leaned in at the same moment, two cold pairs of lips pressing lightly against each other. And suddenly Jason's hands were there too, moving against Dick’s body like he couldn’t stop them, and Dick smiled against the kiss, deepening it to something more intense but still slow and turning his body so that he was straddling Jason’s hips, hands moving to tangle in his hair. The feel of Jason’s mouth on his was intoxicating, and he let out a breathless sound, lungs burning from the cold and the lack of air.

They parted for enough time to breathe, and as soon as he’d heard Jason get a good breath in, Dick was on him once more, licking against his lips and sliding his hands under his sweatshirt that Jason had stolen, earning a yelp and a hissed “Fuck, your hands are cold!” Dick just laughed and pulled away, which prompted Jason to chase his mouth, something Dick found he liked very much. And then their lips met again, and again, and they kissed slowly for what felt like not enough time, but Dick knew they’d been out too long. But as much as he didn’t want this moment to end, he was no longer worried that Jason would run, would hide.

Still, he refused to shatter the thing he’d been dreaming about for so long now. Dick kissed Jason like he wanted to memorize the feeling, and Jason kissed back with a fervor that proved he’d wanted this just as much as Dick had. Their mouths moved in a kind of mesmerizing rhythm, and their hands roamed over each other’s bodies with gentle caresses meant to cherish more than arouse. Dick had long since pushed Jason all the way down into the frosty grass, practically sprawling on top of him and enjoying the feeling of it all. Then they paused, just enough for Dick to murmur, “I think I’m in love with you, Jay,” as Jason ran his fingers through Dick’s hair and traced them over his jaw.

“Is this going to change when we go back to the Manor?” was all Jason said, and Dick felt like an idiot for not anticipating that. Of course Jason would be wary of someone who only loved him in private, who dropped him when it was no longer convenient.

“Absolutely not.”

And Dick had never been more certain of anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this fic comes from a play I absolutely adore called “The Curious Savage” (everyone should read it js). In one scene, the main character explains to another that sometimes you may not realize that someone’s saying “I love you” because people say it in so many different ways. Some of the examples she gives are “Don’t eat too fast” and “Hurry back” and “Take an umbrella, it’s raining.” I thought this perfectly captured Jason, who isn’t one to express his feelings so plainly, but would definitely say it in a myriad of other, just as thoughtful ways. I wanted this to be his “I love you,” so in a way, he says it before Dick does.


	7. Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!!! Thank you all for sticking around for this story and for all the wonderful comments and kudos! I _love_ hearing from you, and I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it!

Dick woke up to a cat on his chest and the distant sound of arguing. Tim and Damian were up, then.

As he carefully nudged Alfred away with the expectation of talking to Damian later about keeping his pets out of Dick’s room, memories of the night before came flooding back. He’d kissed Jason.

He’d _kissed_ Jason.

And Jason had kissed him back.

Holy shit.

Somewhere in the recesses of Dick’s mind he realized he’d have to face Jason at some point - they did live together currently - but most of his attention was taken up by replaying last night in vivid detail until his face felt unnaturally hot.

A loud clang from downstairs jarred him out of his thoughts. Bruce was probably still sleeping, which meant the duty of separating Tim and Damian fell to Dick. He threw on some clothes and made it to the kitchen as quickly as he could, only to find Jason already down there and watching the fight with an amused expression on his face.

Dick glared at him. “Were you going to do anything about this or just leave it to me?”

“They’re your brothers, not mine.” He shrugged and threw a grin over his shoulder, walking straight through the younger boys to the fridge and starting to pull things out to make breakfast. Dick wondered when he’d gotten so comfortable in their kitchen before remembering why he came down in the first place and hastily tried to soothe whatever was going on with his brothers.

By the time he was able to somewhat solve the issue (he got Damian to stop throwing pans, so Dick counted that as a win) and shuffle them both off to separate rooms, Jason had already finished making his omelette, and Dick was surprised to see that he’d made him one too.

“You didn’t have to do that, but thanks,” he murmured, pleased to see a slight flush on Jason’s cheeks that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

“Yeah, whatever. I was already making one for myself, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Dick could see the uncertainty in his face; Jason wasn’t sure how to act around him after last night, and frankly, Dick didn’t know either. He hesitated only slightly before asking, “Do you want to talk about it?”

He didn’t need to specify what.

Jason was silent and clearly not planning on speaking anytime soon, so Dick took a deep breath and continued. “I really liked it. Last night, I mean. The date, the kiss, all of it.” Another deep breath. “I want to date you.”

“What?” Jason blurted it like he hadn’t expected this, but Dick thought he’d been pretty clear with his intentions over the past few weeks, months even.

“Jason, I like you, if that hasn’t been made obvious from the fact that I’ve been flirting with you since we met and that I kissed you last night.”

“Are you sure?” He asked quietly. His shoulders were hunched in, and Dick ached to put an arm around them.

“I told you last night things wouldn’t change when we got back to the Manor, and I still don’t want them to. I’m absolutely sure that I like you, Jason. Ask Wally if you don’t believe me. I’ve ranted to him enough about it.”

That made him crack a smile, so of course Dick had to go and ruin it by adding, “If anything, I should be the one doubting you, since you’ve always been the one rejecting me.”

It was just a joke, but the moment the words left his mouth, Dick knew it had been the wrong thing to say. Jason’s whole expression and posture closed off. He looked defensive.

“Look, I’m not good with this stuff, okay? I’m sorry if I-”

“Jason, it’s okay,” Dick interrupted. “It was a joke! I shouldn’t have put the blame on you for that, and I also know I came on pretty strong at first. It was just a joke. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Jason’s posture relaxed a little bit, and Dick tried to force himself to do the same. “So, do you want to be my boyfriend, then?" He asked, desperately hoping he wasn’t still coming on too strong.

Jason didn’t answer but instead leaned in, and Dick felt his breath catch as he got close enough to count his freckles. He only had a moment to appreciate them before Jason closed the distance completely and they were kissing again. It was something entirely different than the first, something soft and sweet, with the promise of many more to come. They stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms even after the kiss broke, and when Jason looked into his eyes, Dick knew his answer was yes.

It had been almost a full month of Jason living at the Manor, two weeks of which they spent in an official relationship. No one had been surprised, both at home and at school, especially since the latter found out when Wally yelled it in the cafeteria. Jason hadn't appreciated that, but Dick had found it endearing.

Adjusting to their new relationship was complicated, and Jason staying at the Manor made it more so, but Dick was just glad that they had so much time to spend together. The fact that his brothers had walked in on them making out more than once wasn't going to deter him. 

The most surprising development was how well Jason seemed to embrace this new change; Dick had thought he'd be more hesitant, but after their second kiss in the kitchen, Jason couldn't seem to stay away for longer than a few minutes. Dick would be lying if he said he didn't really enjoy it. As someone who thrived on physical affection, Jason's receptiveness was welcome, even if he didn't often initiate it himself. Sometimes it still blew Dick's mind to think that he could kiss Jason whenever he wanted.

There had already been multiple instances when they’d been sitting next to each other, doing homework, watching a movie, reading a book, and Dick had suddenly remembered they were dating and he could just up and kiss Jason. The fact that Jason always kissed back enthusiastically made it even better.

Dick thought about doing just that as they sat together on his bed, Jason reading while Dick scrolled absentmindedly through his phone. But as much as he wanted to kiss him, there were things that needed discussing. He cleared his throat.

“Hey Jay?”

Jason must’ve sensed the hesitance in Dick’s voice, because he finished scanning the paragraph before placing a bookmark between the pages and setting the book down gingerly. He was always so gentle with their books. “Yeah?”

“So, I talked with Bruce earlier,” he started, “and he was telling me about the, uh, developments with Ma Gunn.”

“Oh.” Jason didn’t look upset, but his face was carefully blank. Dick continued.

“Yeah, so, he said that things are going well, and the case against her should be pretty solid. I know he already talked to you about testifying if necessary, but he just wanted me to let you know that it’s going well.”

Jason was silent, and Dick let him have the moment without interruption. He resisted the urge to touch him - that wouldn’t be reassuring in the same way it would be for Dick. Finally, Jason let out a breath and offered a weak smile. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Of course.”

“I just hope everything works out. Not for me, because you guys are already helping me, but for everyone else there. Especially the younger kids who probably want to be there about as much as I did.”

Dick had no empathy to give, but he had compassion in spades, so he gave that instead. This time he did volunteer a reassuring touch, placing his hand on top of Jason’s, who turned his so they could lace their fingers together. It wasn’t much, but it was the best he could do, and Jason smiled a real smile this time and leaned in to kiss him gently, cupping a hand around the back of Dick’s neck. It made his skin tingle, and the gentleness with which Jason treated him never failed to surprise him. Dick was getting very used to being surprised by Jason.

“I know you’ll just get mad if I promise to always be here for you,” Dick said after they parted, “so instead I’ll just tell you that I’ll try my best.”

Jason looked at him so fondly that Dick’s heart started doing the kind of flips he was used to doing on a trapeze. “Thanks, Dick. I’ll- I’ll try my best too.”

The case against Ma Gunn was being built as quickly as possible, and when Bruce called both Dick and Jason into his office, Dick assumed the conversation would be related to that. He was shocked when Bruce instead led with, “I’ve found someone willing to take you in permanently, Jason.”

Dick stared, and somehow Jason recovered more quickly than him.

“Really?” He looked hopeful. “Are you sure they’re okay? Because I’ve heard the horror stories from other-”

Bruce held a hand to cut him off. “I can personally vouch for them, and I’m sure Dick will, too.”

“It’s someone I know?” Dick asked, finally catching up.

Bruce smiled softly, and that was all Dick needed to know it was someone good, someone he thought highly of. “Commissioner Gordon, whose daughter Barbara is a good friend of Dick’s, has expressed interest in adopting you ever since I brought the case against Faye Gunn to him.”

He spoke to Jason, but Dick got the feeling a lot of it was addressed to him. Babs hadn’t said anything to him about this, even though they’d been texting ever since the party, mostly Dick ranting about how much he loved Jason until she told him to shut up and call Wally. Her dad had probably wanted her to keep it quiet, but it still stung a little.

If Dick was surprised at this development, Jason was absolutely dumbfounded. Bruce waited expectantly for him to react, but when it was clear he wasn’t going to, Dick spoke up. “Wow, that’s, um, unexpected. Maybe give Jason a little time to-”

“No! I mean, really? He wants to…” Jason trailed off.

“He told me himself. I presume you’ve already met Barbara?” Bruce asked, and both Jason and Dick nodded.

“And she’s okay with it, too? She wants to, I dunno, be my sister?” Jason asked, incredulously.

Bruce nodded firmly. “Yes, Jason. They’ve both talked about this extensively, before they even came to me, and they want you to be a part of their family if you’ll let them. Gordon is a good man and a good father to Barbara. He would take good care of you.”

Jason let out a shuddering breath before setting his jaw and sitting up straighter. “I don’t wanna commit to anything right away. But thank you. For helping me, and, and for everything.”

He looked overwhelmed, and Bruce seemed to take notice, dismissing them after telling Jason to let him know when he’d made up his mind. Dick followed him out of the study, struggling to keep pace as Jason walked quickly to his room and immediately sat on the floor, slumped against the wall and hugging his knees to his chest.

“Hey, you okay?” Dick asked softly and hoped he wasn’t about to break down. But Jason simply took a deep breath in before releasing it.

“Yeah. It’s just a lot. Good, but a lot.”

Dick sat next to him and put an arm around him, gently trailing his fingers through the curls by Jason’s ear. “I get it. I’m a little blindsided too. Babs never said anything!”

“Probably didn’t wanna ruin the surprise,” he mumbled from where he’d put his head in his arms.

“Yeah, probably,” Dick said, and let his head rest on Jason’s shoulder. They stayed like that, leaning against the wall and each other, until Dick’s stomach made the executive decision that it was time for dinner and they made their way to the kitchen.

They were halfway down the stairs when Jason stopped suddenly.

“I wanna do it. I wanna say yes.”

“Are you sure?” Dick asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I want a family, and they want to adopt me. Plus, I like Babs, she’s cool. I wouldn’t mind having her as my sister.”

“I think you two would get along well.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you guys are really similar. You’re both really smart, and you have great taste in guys,” Dick joked. It was common knowledge that he and Babs had dated. Jason shoved him off the step, which Dick figured he deserved, and he shot him a grin before yanking Jason down to the floor with him and wrapping his arms around his neck. Jason’s hands found their way to his waist, and Dick sighed into the kiss, still unable to get used to the feeling.

“So, Jason Gordon, huh?” Dick said after pulling away, somewhat regretfully.

This earned him an eye roll, but Jason’s cheeks were pink, so Dick knew he was just trying to cover up his embarrassment.

“I think I’ll stick with Todd. Jason Gordon doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

Dick hummed in agreement.

“Plus,” Jason continued, “I haven’t even talked to them yet. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“It’ll work out, Jay.”

“I know, I just- It’s hard to believe this is all happening.”

Dick pulled him into another kiss, this one slower and more intentional than the last. “You deserve a family, Jay.” He planted another small kiss of the tip of his nose. “Now c’mon, it’s dinner time, and I’m hungry, and Tim and Dami are probably tired of catching us kissing in various places.”

Jason snorted a laugh and let himself be pulled along towards the kitchen.

The rest of the night passed quickly, as time usually did with Jason. Dick was loath to see him go after all the time they’d spent together, but even though he would leave the Manor sometime soon, he’d leave to become part of a new family and get the life he’d never been able to have. The Gordons would be good for him, and Dick couldn’t think of a better sister for him than Babs.

After dinner, they quickly found themselves back in Jason’s room, arms wrapped around each other, holding each other tight. It was becoming a rather common position for the two of them.

“I love you,” Dick said, and he nuzzled his face into Jason’s neck. They could be making out right now, but he didn’t feel an ounce of pressure to rush things. They had all the time in the world, and Dick wanted to spend every minute of it cherishing his boyfriend.

Jason didn’t say it back; he hadn’t said I love you yet, but Dick didn’t mind. He knew Jason did.

He saw it in the way Jason reminded him to eat real food, and in the way he listened patiently as Dick ranted about Conner and Tim, and in the way his eyes still lit up every time Dick kissed him.

He said it in things like, “Text me when you get there,” and “It’s dangerous to flip from that height, Dickie,” and “Don’t forget to wear a jacket. It’s pretty cold out there.”

And he was saying it right now when he told Dick, “You still have to finish your homework,” but made no attempt to pull away.

Dick smiled up at him, chin tilted up feistily. “Oh yeah? What’re you gonna do about it?”

Jason responded by backing him in against the closed door and kissing him deeply. Dick all but melted into him, Jason's arms the only thing keeping him steady, and in that moment he had no doubt that Jason loved him.

And whatever happened next, Dick knew he loved Jason more than anything.

Whatever happened next, they were together.

This was only the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [tumblr](https://epistemologys.tumblr.com/)


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